Phantoms of the Borderlands
by HyruleKing
Summary: Part 3 of the "Phantoms of a Wish" series. Following the defeat of Ganondorf, CJ and several other Sages find themselves lost on the wasteland planet of Pandora, separated from their friends and families. As they hunt for a way home, will they get wrapped up in the history of Pandora and find themselves hunting for a Vault?
1. Welcome to the Borderlands

**Phantoms of the Borderlands**

 _It's been some time since CJ and his friends discovered the new changes to their world as a result of the N-Sphere. Things have been fairly peaceful in the new world, and the gang is slowly adjusting to their new lives. However, soon they are going to undergo yet another change that they will have to adjust to... As this new journey brings them new friends, new enemies, new powers..._

 _And to a whole new planet..._

 **CHAPTER ONE: Welcome to the Borderlands**

" _So, you want to hear another story... One where Pandora is no longer plagued by Bandits, deadly creatures and the troubles of the Vaults?_

 _Well, too bad, that's not what this is about._

 _Pandora... Our home. But this is no planet of peace, love and tranquility. As I already said, this is a planet plagued by beasts, and a planet home to one of many Vaults. My father used to tell me legends about the Vaults, ancient alien prisons opened with a mystical key..._

 _Ancient alien technology, weapons caches, money, wealth, power unimaginable. And of course, other children were raised on these tales. So it's no surprise that these children grew up and began to travel to Pandora, seeking these Vaults._

 _But to the warriors who opened the first Vault, it was nothing but a mess of tentacles and disappointment. They vanished into the Borderlands, sure that the Vault contained nothing of value. But they were wrong. For the opening of the Vault triggered the growth of Eridium, a priceless alien element._

 _Soon, it appeared all over Pandora, attracting treasure seekers from far and wide. But it also attracted the attention of the Hyperion Corporation._

 _They came to Pandora to mine Eridium, and bring order to the savage planet. Through their excavations, Hyperion uncovered evidence of an even greater Vault. Their leader, a man named Handsome Jack, vowed to find it - to use its power to civilize the Borderlands once and for all._

 _But Hyperion weren't the only ones searching for the next Vault's alien power. The call of danger and loot is not so easily resisted. Certain warriors came to Pandora in droves to uncover its hidden secrets. Some would call them adventurers. Others call them fools. But I... call them Vault Hunters._

 _Handsome Jack stopped at nothing to find the Vault, using the power of a mystical girl... a Siren, to forcibly charge the Vault Key using Eridium. The Siren was known to the Vault Hunters as the "Guardian Angel", but to Handsome Jack, she was only Angel... His daughter._

 _In time, the Vault Hunters found Angel and, at her request, broke her free of her forced connection to Eridium. She knew that because her life was now dependent on Eridium that she would not survive her freedom, but she did not care. She wanted her father's plans to stop._

 _The Vault Hunters were eventually able to stop Handsome Jack, but not before he opened the Vault and awoke the Warrior, an ancient alien creature with the power to destroy the entire planet of Pandora. But the Vault Hunters were able to slay the Warrior, kill Handsome Jack, and secure the Vault Key. But as one of the Vault Hunters, a Siren named Lilith, prepared to destroy the Vault Key, they were shown the existence of a number of Vaults, scattered all across the universe._

 _Our tales begins with one of those Vaults, the Vault Hunters of Pandora, and a new group of Vault Hunters, thrown onto Pandora by a strange twist of fate..."_

"And we've saved the world yet again." A group of young adults were walking through a large park next to a busy set of streets in a downtown area.

"Though I kinda wish we weren't saving the world for real... I kinda wish it was still only a video game thing, just like all the other times." Said a young black man with umber brown skin and a shaved head who was about 22 years old.

 **Dayan as "The Frost Marine"**

"Are you saying this isn't amazing?" Said a girl around 22 years old and had blonde hair, blue eyes and glasses. "I mean come on, look at this!" She smiled as she formed a small orb of water within her hands seemingly out of nowhere. "And we're Pokemon trainers!"

 **Stacey as "The Siren"**

"I certainly can't complain." Said another girl. She had hazel eyes and reddish-brown hair. "Check this out!" She moved her hand in a fluid motion in front of her, creating a small breeze that blew past the group, catching some leaves along the way.

 **Aubrey as "The Tamer"**

"I don't know... I mean, this is cool, but... things haven't exactly been perfect since we got our powers." Said a third girl, who was only around 17 years old, and had emerald eyes, and golden blonde hair that was tied into a ponytail with bangs that fell in a sideways crescent shape.

 **Shaylene as "The Laser Specialist"**

"I just wish Gundams were a legit thing..." Said a second black male with cinnamon-colored skin. He was around the same age as Dayan and Stacey, and he had short curly black hair. "I want my own mech suit."

 **Alex as "The Geomancer"**

"You _would_ want your own mech suit, Alex." Said the last person. He was the oldest of the group at 26 years old, and considered himself the leader, especially considering he was somewhat responsible for everything that had happened to him and his friends over the past year and a half... or at least he felt that way.

 **CJ as "The Infiltrator"**

"So... what now?" Stacey asked.

"I guess we go back to life as usual... or at least whatever is as "usual" as our life is now..." CJ said.

"So... protecting the general population from monsters and magical beings masquerading as normal humans?" Dayan asked.

"Pretty much." CJ said.

"Well... I'm gonna go out and try to find some Pokemon." Dayan said. "Or trainers. I'm itching to do some battling with Typhlosion. Anyone else feel like joining?"

"Sure, I'm up for whatever." Alex said.

"Not me." Stacey said. "I'm wiped out. I'm gonna go home and rest."

"And I want to head home and monitor any creature activity in the area." CJ said.

"Okay, we'll catch you later." Dayan, Aubrey and Alex walked away.

"So, I'll see you tomorrow?" Stacey asked.

"I don't see why not." CJ said.

"Okay." Stacey said with a smile. "Love you."

"Love you too." CJ said. The two kissed briefly and Stacey walked away toward a silver SUV parked on the side of a nearby road. CJ began walking away from the park toward a set of stoplights and brick building with a large clock tower.

"Hey CJ, can I come over for a while?" Shaylene asked, running over to CJ.

"Yeah, sure." CJ said. "Any particular reason why?"

"Do I need a reason?" Shaylene asked.

"No, I was just curious." CJ said.

 _ **Later that evening...**_

CJ and Shaylene were sitting on his bed. He had his laptop next to him, watching a live stream of one of the local news stations.

"This just in... Geologists around the globe have been reporting discoveries of strange purple rock formations. According to the USGS, the rocks seems to give off an unusual glow, and they suspect that it could be a new radioactive element. There have also been reports of geologists from the dig sites where these rocks were discovered having strange reactions, ranging from suspected radiation poisoning to what can only be described as super-human abilities." The news anchor said.

"That's weird." CJ said.

"Tell me that doesn't scream 'Connection to the N-Sphere'." Shaylene said. "Super human abilities?" Her hand then began to give off an ethereal golden glow before the light quickly vanished. "Sounds like exactly what happened to us."

"Wait a minute..." CJ said, walking over to a small safe in the corner of his room. He pulled out a small hunk of purple rock, which gave off a faint purple glow. "I wonder if that has any connection to this rock I found."

"Dude! Weren't you listening?! That thing could be radioactive! What are you doing?!" Shaylene exclaimed.

"Are you forgetting what happened the last time we were exposed to radiation?" CJ asked, as he gathered an orb of purple energy in his hand.

"How do you know this will react the same way?" Shaylene questioned.

"I don't." CJ said.

"So you're just gonna pick it up?" Shaylene asked.

"Well, I already did in order to bring it home and put it in my safe, so... yeah." CJ said.

"Maybe we should go down to the Woolworth Building." Shaylene said.

"In the morning." CJ said. "But yeah, good idea."

The next day, CJ, Shaylene, Stacey, Alex, Dayan and Aubrey were gathered outside of an abandoned building on the corner of an intersection near a bridge. A sign on the corner of the building read "Location... Location... Location..."

"So, I'm assuming you guys saw the news yesterday?" CJ asked.

"About the radioactive rocks and the people with super powers?" Dayan questioned.

"Yes." CJ said, holding up the hunk of purple rock.

"Dude! Why are you holding that if it might be radioactive?!" Alex asked.

"I've already picked it up twice, and I already have superhuman abilities." CJ said. "Whatever. But I believe it may be connected to the N-Sphere."

"So that's why you called us here?" Stacey asked.

"I thought maybe we could find some kind of clue here in the Woolworth Building." CJ said.

"I guess it's worth a shot." Dayan said. CJ led the group around back through an alleyway, where they were able to sneak into the building through a loose board covering an open doorway.

Once inside, the group began to look around the building.

"Look for anything that might be a clue about the radioactive rocks." CJ said.

"Hey guys, check this out." Alex said, pointing to a tall purple monolith marked with glowing white swirling lines and designs.

"What is it?" Dayan wondered, as Alex reached out to touch it.. "Damnit man! Don't just start screwing with it! You have no idea what that thing is!"

As if to respond to Dayan, the monolith began to glow.

"See what you did, Alex?!" Dayan said. The glow got stronger, beginning to envelop Alex. One by one, everyone began to glow white and vanish... First Alex, then Dayan, then Aubrey, then Stacey, then Shaylene and finally CJ.

A few moments later, the six friends found themselves standing in a sandy, barren, almost desert-like area.

"Ow my head..." Stacey moaned.

"That was trippy." Dayan said.

"What did you do, Alex?!" Aubrey questioned.

"Where... where are we?" Shaylene wondered.

"..." CJ was silent for a moment. "Oh god!" He ran over behind a nearby rock and vomited.

"Are you okay?" Shaylene asked, as CJ walked back over to the group.

"Yeah..." CJ said. "Something about... whatever the hell just happened made me sick to my stomach. It felt like I was hurled across a ridiculous distance at several hundred miles an hour."

"Somebody want to explain where I got these tattoos from?" Stacey asked, referencing strange blue markings on her left arm. CJ began to examine their surroundings. The area was a barren, arid desert-like area, with all kinds of large rock formations and strange dome-shaped buildings. Running above the city was what looked like a highway, and it led to a tall tower. Scattered around the wasteland were pools of purple goo.

"Son... of... a... bitch." CJ said. "Alex..."

"What?" Alex asked.

"Look around. This place look familiar?" CJ asked.

Alex scanned his surroundings and became wide-eyed.

"This looks like Fyrestone." Alex said.

"I think it is." CJ said. "I think that monolith you touched may have been an Eridian monolith, like the one in Stanton's Liver in The Pre-Sequel. I think we're somehow on Pandora."

"Not my fault! Better that people with powers find this than people without powers! Not my fault! I just saved a bunch of peoples' lives!" Alex exclaimed.

"I wonder if we have any new powers now that we're here..." Shaylene said.

"Wait... Do these tattoos mean... I'm a Siren?" Stacey asked.

"I think you might be." CJ said.

"Maybe any powers we have are based around our Sage powers." Dayan said. "Which makes me wonder what this is." He was holding a small cube-like object in his hand.

"Back up and throw it to the ground." Alex said. "I think I know what it is."

Dayan backed away from everyone and threw the cube on the ground. They all watched as the cube exploded open and transformed into a turret complete with an energy shield. It then fired a couple of energy blasts into the distance, which coated some of the rocks in ice.

"It's like Roland's Scorpio Turret and Axton's Sabre Turret." CJ said. "But it deals Cryo damage, it seems."

"An ice turret?" Alex asked. "That's cool. Maybe our powers _are_ based on our Sage abilities. Hm... Let's try something." Alex focused for a moment, making some hand gestures as he focused on some rocks nearby. Everyone watched as the rocks broke apart and formed together with some metal in the area, forming two golems, one of stone and one of metal. The metal one stood in front of Alex in a defensive position, while the stone one ran around the area in search of enemies.

"That's cool." CJ said. "Kinda like Wilhelm's Wolf and Saint, but golems instead of drones. Got a name?"

"Nah, I'll come up with something eventually." Alex said.

"I think I'll call mine the Loki Turret." Dayan said.

"Why?" Aubrey asked.

"Because Loki was a Frost Giant." Dayan said.

"Not bad." CJ said.

"I wonder what my power is..." Stacey said. She held her hand out in front of her and focused. Everyone watched as a wave of energy rushed out of her. "All the Siren abilities start with 'Phase' right?"

"The ones we know, yes." CJ said. "Phaselock, Phaseshift, Phasewalk."

"Phasewave." Stacey said. "That's what I'm gonna call it."

Aubrey looked down and saw a whip attached to her waist.

"I have a whip." She said. "Someone want to explain this shit?"

"Nisha's melee attack in the Pre-Sequel was a whip..." CJ said. "Some kind of Lawbringer ability, maybe?"

"I guess we'll find out eventually?" Aubrey said.

"Maybe." CJ said. "Shay, let's see what kind of powers you got."

"Well, I've got this thing." Shaylene said, holding up a box similar to the one that Dayan had.

"Another turret?" Alex questioned.

"Let's find out." CJ said. "Toss it down, Shay." Shaylene threw the cube to the ground and everyone watched as it turned into a yellow and black turret. It quickly fired a small laser burst before collapsing back into a cube and vanishing. A white light then gathered at Shaylene's waist, forming a belt with the turret cube attached to it.

"That was cool." Alex said.

"Neat, a laser turret." CJ said.

"I'm not gonna give it a special name. It's just a laser turret." Shaylene said. CJ chuckled.

"All right, let's see what I've got." He said. He focused for a moment and suddenly went invisible.

"Whoa!" Shaylene gasped.

"Dude! You're invisible!" Dayan exclaimed. CJ focused again and became visible.

"So, I've got assassin type skills similar to Zer0." CJ said.

"So... what do we do now?" Dayan asked.

"We find a way home, I guess." CJ said. "...Somehow."

"Can't we just use the rock thing that brought us here?" Stacey asked.

"I don't think it'll be that easy." CJ said. "I think us ending up here was a fluke... Thank you Alex."

"Hey, I already said we have powers! It's better that we're here instead of people without powers!"

"The transport gave us more powers." CJ said. "What's to say that it wouldn't have done that to anyone else it transported?"

"Fine. Better us than people with families." Alex said.

"What do you mean 'people with families'?" CJ questioned.

"Dayan and Danielle are pretty much each others' only families... I'm fine with or without mine, I don't care either way." Alex said.

"What about Dayan's little brother Reggie?" CJ questioned. "What about Stacey's mom and Janelle? And have you forgot that one of the people now stuck on Pandora with us is a 17-YEAR-OLD GIRL?! One who's been through all kinds of hell in the past few months and has now been thrown onto some giant space rock of death without her family, who have been her support pillar through being nearly RAPED by a classmate?!"

"A 17-year-old with powers!" Alex exclaimed.

"She's a CHILD!" CJ roared.

"Guys! Stop fighting!" Shaylene cried out. She looked at CJ. "I'm fine, as long as I'm with you guys. CJ, you and everyone else are just as much of my family as Mom, Dad, Jennette and Steven."

"Sorry... I guess I'm just... kinda freaked out over all this. And worried about you." CJ said.

"I know." Shaylene said. "But I'll be fine as long as you guys are with me."

"Ok, Mr Borderlands..." Dayan said. "How do you propose we get off this planet?"

"That's a difficult question." CJ said. "I guess the first thing to do would be get somewhere safe."

"This place isn't safe?" Dayan asked.

"Assuming we've been thrown into post-Borderlands 2 Pandora, the town of Fyrestone has been abandoned for at least 5 years, at least 6 if we're in post-Tales from the Borderlands Pandora." CJ said. "We'll need to find a way to the city of Sanctuary. It's easily the safest place on Pandora."

"If this is post-Borderlands 2 Pandora, then how are we supposed to get to a floating city in the sky?" Alex asked.

"Well... I guess we can try using the Fast Travel Station." CJ said, walking over to a strange machine. It was a small pillar-like machine with a single lens at the top, an antenna and a small number pad with a couple of buttons, and it was known as a Fast Travel Station. It was how the residents of Pandora were able to quickly travel across the planet. He pressed a couple of buttons and waited for the station to activate. "Or not... It looks like Sanctuary's not programmed into the Fast Travel Network." He then noticed a number at the top of the Fast Travel Station, along with the words "Arid Badlands – Fyrestone". He quickly made a mental note of the number.

"So... we're stuck here?" Aubrey asked.

"Well... stuck on Pandora, anyway." CJ said. "As for Sanctuary... If we could get to the Highlands, we might be able to get to Sanctuary from there."

"What makes you say that?" Alex said.

"That's where Sanctuary reappeared in Borderlands 2." CJ said. "It's also home to Overlook, which is where the Vault Hunters were able to re-establish the Fast Travel link with Sanctuary."

"Are you thinking we could do the same?" Alex asked.

"It's a possibility." CJ said.

"The Highlands are a bit of a long way away." Alex said.

"It's a long way _anywhere_." CJ said.

"What about those car thingys?" Stacey asked.

"The Catch-A-Ride Station?" CJ responded.

"Yeah, that thing." Stacey replied.

"Actually, yeah. We should be able to get there in a pair of Bandit Technicals." CJ said.

"We can't take just one?" Shaylene asked.

"Yeah, a driver, a passenger, a gunner, and three people in the back." Alex said. "We should be able to manage it."

"Worth a shot, I guess." CJ said. "But it's a walk to the nearest Catch-A-Ride. We're gonna have to hoof it to the Arid Boneyard."

"Well then, let's get going." Alex said.

"Hey, what's that over there?" Shaylene asked, pointing to a red treasure chest not too far from where they were standing.

"Loot!" Stacey said excitedly. The gang ran over to the red chest and found several blood-soaked, ripped apart human bodies scattered around it, as well as the bodies of weird four-legged creatures, lying in semi-dried pools of blood. They were somewhat dog-like in appearance, but had heavy spiked plating on their backs, some plating on their heads, sharp hook-like claws, and three-jawed mouths.

"Whoa... what happened to them?" Dayan asked, noticing the human bodies.

"Skags." CJ said, referencing the four-legged creatures. CJ looked down at one of the humans and found a small box-shaped device with buttons labeled with symbols for "play", "stop" and "skip", as well as a compass and a screen that took up the majority of the top half of the device. He bent down and picked it up.

"Dude. Ew. Dead guy." Dayan said.

"Looting is the norm on this planet, be it from chests or dead bodies." CJ said. He held up the box. "This... Is an ECHO Device, or ECHO for short. These are the primary method of communication on Pandora. Think of it like a smartphone, only better." He scanned the other bodies. "And conveniently enough, there's five more. One for each of you. Trust me, you want these. They'll come in very handy."

"Eh, whatever." Alex said, grabbing an ECHO.

"Still kinda gross." Dayan said, picking up an ECHO as well.

"Sweet! Loot!" Stacey said, probably trying to hide her disgust from taking stuff from a dead guy.

"Kinda gross, kinda cool." Aubrey said.

"Woot! I'm a Vault Hunter!" Shaylene cheered.

"Calm down, kiddo. We're not here to hunt Vaults. We're just trying to find a way home." CJ said. He then kicked open the chest. Inside was a revolver, an assault rifle, a SMG, and a strange futuristic-looking gun with something like a wire coil at the tip of the barrel. "Of course, something to defend ourselves with wouldn't hurt." He handed the assault rifle to Dayan, the SMG to Stacey, the strange-looking gun to Shaylene and held on to the revolver.

"Whoa, this is cool." Stacey said, examining her new gun. It was striped orange near the tip of the barrel, blue across most of the barrel, trigger and handle, a small bit of white at the back, and the stock was black. Above the trigger was a round drum where the ammo went, and parts of the drum gave off a neon green glow.

"That is a Maliwan Caustic Venom SMG." CJ said.

"Caustic? Like as in acid?" Stacey asked.

"Yup." CJ said.

"What about this thing?" Dayan asked, holding up his assault rifle. It was a basic looking assault rifle, nothing too special, though it had a sniper-like scope and was decked out with an autumn-colored camo: spots of yellow, orange, black and white.

"A Dahl Scout Defender Assault Rifle." CJ said. "Automatic when firing from the hip, burst fire while aiming down the sights. A pretty basic gun, but it gets the job done."

"And mine?" Shaylene asked, holding up her gun. It was square-ish in shape, with a grayish barrel, small orange stripe down the center of the gun, followed by a large blue strip, and then a dark gray stock. At the back of the barrel, in the center of the gun, was a battery-like piece that gave off a blue glow.

"A Maliwan Ionizing Polaris Beam Laser weapon." CJ said. "It looks like it's a Shock Elemental weapon too. Great for draining shields fast."

"Aw, why does she get a laser?" Stacey whined.

"I chose based on what our skills seem to be." CJ said. "Shay's got a laser turret, so it seemed to make sense to give her the laser weapon. As a Siren, Maliwan weaponry is right up your alley. Dayan's skills seem comparable to Roland and Axton, the military soldier like classes, so the assault rifle made sense. As for me..."

"A Jakobs revolver?" Alex asked.

"Duh." CJ said. "A Jakobs Ornery Revolver. Because I like Jakobs weaponry. And because I have a skill set similar to Zer0, who I always viewed as a pistol and sniper class character."

"What about us?" Aubrey asked.

"If we keep hunting around the Arid, I'm sure we can find something." CJ said. He and the others continued to walk around through the town of Fyrestone, opening various boxes, crates and the occasional locker.

"What's that over there?" Dayan asked, pointing to a open hut containing a pair of tipped over vending machines. One was maroon in color and had a picture of a revolver that had legs in heels and fishnets attached to it, and a price tag attached to the trigger. Written across the upper part of the machine in yellow lettering was "GUN$". The other machine was green, had the words "Ammo Dump" across the center and was covered with a picture of a bullet wearing combat boots and juggling grenades.

"A Gun and Ammo Vendor." CJ said. "We may be able to find something, assuming they still work."

"Wait... Vending machines for guns?" Aubrey asked. "How does that work?"

"You'll see." CJ said. He walked over to the vending machine, pulled out some money he had found and slipped it in. "Let's see... Oh! This one looks good!" He pressed a couple of buttons and everyone watched as light particles came together in a small compartment at the bottom of the vending machine to form an assault rifle. It was red-and-silver with a minigun-like barrel. The handle, trigger and chamber were covered in a black-and-white checkered pattern.

"Whoa... That was cool." Dayan said. "Did it just build the gun in front of us?"

"Digistruct technology." CJ said. "Digital construction. It's kinda the thing on Pandora. Now, about the gun... This is a Torgue Rhythmic Spitter assault rifle. I feel like this one's right up your alley, Alex." CJ handed the gun to Alex and then turned his attention back to the vending machine.

"With no idea what kind of skills this planet has given you, I'm not really sure what kind of weapon to get for you, Aubrey." CJ said. Aubrey walked over to the vending machine and watched as CJ scanned through the available selections via a holographic menu.

"That looks cool." Aubrey said, pointing to one weapon in particular.

"Ok, let's go for it." CJ said. He put some money in the vending machine and it soon began digistructing a blue and black camo SMG. Various lights and displays on the gun lit up with a purple light. Aubrey grabbed the gun, aimed it out over the wasteland, and fired off a few bursts, the bullets giving off a purple haze as they flew out of the barrel.

"Is that Slag?" Alex asked.

"It is." CJ said. "It's a Dahl Deft Jackal SMG. With a Maliwan Slag elemental barrel. Slag's a handy little element type. If you coat an enemy in slag, it will take extra damage. In fact, it's the same purple goo that you see scattered around the wastes. It's runoff from the refinement of Eridium, a precious alien element discovered on Pandora after the opening of the first Vault. It's also a source of power for some Sirens. Eridium, I mean. Not Slag. Slag's not a power source for much of anything. It's basically sewage... Actually, maybe it's more comparable to nuclear waste. Whatever. Let's get going. We've got a long way to go." He held his revolver down near his ECHO, which was now attached to his waist, and it was engulfed in a white light before breaking down into light particles and being absorbed into the ECHO.

"Dude, your revolver just disappeared." Dayan said.

"I know." CJ said. "ECHOs aren't just communication devices. They also double as maps and storage units. Like I said, they come in handy. Watch." He tapped the screen on his ECHO and a touch screen-like holographic display appeared in front of him, displaying a map of the area as well as a small inventory screen. He tapped the map, tapped the location of the Fast Travel Station and scribbled down the number written on it, saving it on his ECHO's map. He then turned his attention to the inventory screen. On the inventory screen was an image of his revolver. He tapped the image of the revolver and the revolver was then digistructed in a holster on his waist.

"That's pretty cool." Aubrey said, as everyone followed suit and watched their weapons vanish into their ECHOs. It was then that a loud screech was heard. Everyone looked up and saw a flock of winged creatures flying toward them. The creatures had soft, snouted heads with a small armor-like plate on top, and a several foot wingspan with wings that resembled a pterodactyl.

"What the heck are those?" Dayan asked.

"Rakk." CJ said, readying his pistol. As the Rakk flew toward them, he fired off six rounds, killing three of the creatures. "Damn. That could've gone better. Everyone watch out!" Everyone dove to the ground as the remaining Rakk dive bombed the group. As they dove down, Dayan and Shaylene both deployed their turrets, which focused on two of the remaining Rakk. The two quickly dropped as Alex sniped another one with his Torgue rifle, causing the Rakk to explode into several pieces. Stacey began firing her SMG as the last two dove toward the group. One was coated in acid and burned as it dropped to the ground, screeching as it died.

"Time to see what this thing can do!" Aubrey said, grabbing her whip. As the Rakk got close, she struck it with her whip. It flapped its wings in place for several moments, dazed by the hit. At the moment of impact, everyone felt a gentle breeze pass by. Once the Rakk regained its senses, it continued to hover in place, flapping its wings to stay in the air.

"Why isn't it doing anything?" Alex asked.

"No idea." CJ said. A roar was then heard, and everyone turned to see one of the same creatures that they found dead earlier where they found their ECHOs. "Now we've gotta deal with Skags too?" The Rakk let out a loud screech and then flew up into the air before quickly dive bombing the Skag, slicing it open with its sharp claws, but not before the Skag was able to slash at the Rakk as well. The Skag dropped dead as the Rakk flew directly into a nearby pool of Slag.

"What just happened?" Shaylene asked.

"I think Aubrey's whip might allow her to tame wildlife..." CJ said.

"No, I mean what just happened with those Rakk suddenly trying to kill us?" Shaylene asked.

"Welcome to Pandora, kiddo." CJ said.


	2. Journey to Sanctuary

**CHAPTER TWO: Journey to Sanctuary**

The Sages wandered through the desert, past pools of Slag, following a pipeline until they reached a tall wall that separated the area around Fyrestone, known as the Badlands, from the rest of the Arid Nexus, which was the Boneyard. No one was really sure why either area was called what it was. Regardless of where you went, it was bad and you ran a decent chance of ending up a pile of bones. So realistically, either place could have been the Boneyard OR the Badlands.

"Are we there yet?" Stacey groaned.

"Almost." CJ said, as they reached a large metal door built into the wall. CJ hit a button next to the door and it opened to a metal platform attached to a tall building. Passing through the building was the same pipeline that passed through the Badlands. "There should be a Catch-A-Ride on the other side of this building." The group walked around the metal walkway circling the building until they came to a small ladder leading down to a series of metal grates above a pool of Slag. "Or we could follow the Eridium pipeline to the other side of the Boneyard."

"What's that down there?" Aubrey called out from nearby. She was standing on an adjacent metal platform built into a nearby cliff side. Down below them was a metal platform with two slightly raised platforms that looked like something you might park a car on. Near the platforms was a small brown tower with a holographic display. CJ and others walked over. He looked down at what she was pointing to.

"That... is a Catch-A-Ride Station." CJ said.

"How do we get down there?" Dayan asked.

"Easy." CJ said. He began scaling the narrow cliffside near the platform until he came to the end of the ledge. He climbed down about five and a half feet to a lower ledge, and followed that until he was above a tall rock that was maybe 10 feet below the ledge. He braced himself and hopped down to the rock. From there, it was a matter of walking along the rock, which was conveniently ramp-like, to reach the platform where the Catch-A-Ride Station was. "Just like that!" He called up to his friends. They all followed suit, and soon were all down by the Catch-A-Ride as well. "Now, just let me figure out how to spawn a Bandit Technical, and..." He activated the display and began swiping through the commands. Within a few moments, a vehicle appeared on one of the small platforms. It looked like a cross between a buggy and a pickup truck, with more truck like features. It was crimson in color, with red stripes in places, had a seat for a driver, passenger, and a large truck bed in back. Mounted on top of the truck was an odd-looking gun and a seat for a gunner.

"I call dibs on the gunner seat!" Stacey said, quickly climbing into the gunner's seat.

"CJ, you drive." Alex said. "You seem to have the best grasp on this reality."

"I call Shotgun!" Shaylene said, jumping into the passenger seat.

"Okay, so Aubrey, Dayan and I will sit in the bed." Alex said.

"Keep any Rakk or other creatures off us as bed as you can." CJ said. "It shouldn't be too hard to navigate to the Blight." He jumped into the driver's seat as Aubrey and the guys jumped into the back of the technical. Once inside, CJ found a place that he could connect his ECHO to, displaying his map on a small holo-screen on the dashboard. "Well, that's convenient." He drove the technical parallel to the Eridium pipeline, until he felt the jolt of the car being struck by something. He jammed on the brakes as a ball of sludge splattered against the hood.

"We got a problem!" Alex called out.

"Yeah, I can tell!" CJ said. "Can't you guys take care of it?"

"Whoa! Shit!" Stacey said, ducking down into the gunner's seat. CJ felt another jolt.

"What the hell's going on?" He asked.

"We've got Rakks and Skags out here!" Alex said.

"Damnit!" CJ said. "Try to kill 'em! I'm gonna try to drive and evade them as much as I can!"

"Ha! Got one!" Stacey called out, as she fired a sawblade from the technical's gun, killing a Rakk. As it dropped, it landed on the hood, where CJ noticed it had the head of a Skag.

"Are you kidding me?!" CJ said.

"What?" Alex asked.

"These aren't Rakks!" CJ said. "These are Dr Zed's fucking Skrakks!"

"Skrakks?" Dayan asked.

"Body of a Rakk, head of a Skag." CJ said. "Stupid ass Frankenstein-esque experiment by Pandora's own Dr Zed. He's kind of the only doctor on the planet as far as the games let us know. I think he had a medical license at one time."

"That's comforting." Aubrey said.

"Hey, he seems to do a good enough job." CJ said. "Oh! I see the highway! Try to keep those guys off for a bit longer!"

"You got it!" Alex said, shooting down another Skrakk. Before long, CJ reached a large car elevator below a long winding highway. He pulled the technical onto the elevator, hopped out and pressed a nearby button, which lifted the elevator, the technical and CJ up to the same level as the highway. He hopped back into the technical and began driving.

"This highway should lead us to Eridium Blight, and from there, we can get to the Dust. Once we cut across the Dust, we'll reach the Highlands." CJ said.

After following the highway, and the Eridium pipeline, for several hours, the scenery finally changed from the desert wasteland of the Arid, to a mountainous area near a volcano. As they entered the area, they drove over a large body of water, contaminated with Slag and only broken by geysers of purple gas. In the distance, smoke could be seen billowing from the volcano, with frequent flashes of volcanic lightning illuminating the sky.

"Whoa. This place is cool." Stacey said.

"Welcome to the Eridium Blight." CJ said.

"Ooh, is there Eridium around here?" Stacey asked.

"Maybe." CJ said, as he drove the technical through a gate and past a Hyperion outpost. He continued to follow the highway, which rode to the right of the Eridium pipeline, past a Catch-A-Ride Station and under the pipeline, which continued into a nearby cliff and into a Hyperion plant on the cliffside. As he drove up the hilly terrain, the group began to notice nest like structures built into the cliffs and other rock formations.

"What are those?" Dayan asked.

"Bullymong nests." CJ said. "Let's hope we don't have to deal with-" His sentence was cut off as the technical was struck by a flying rock. "-Shit." They looked around and saw four-armed, small-legged Yeti like creatures climbing out of the nests.

"I take it those are Bullymongs?" Dayan asked.

"You would be correct." CJ said.

"Shit!" Stacey said.

"What?" CJ asked.

"We've got Rakks too! Why are these damn things everywhere?!" Alex answered.

"I don't know!" CJ said. "Just hang on!" CJ quickly shifted the technical into reverse and slammed on the gas. The whole vehicle jolted and bounced as CJ ran over several of the Bullymongs.

"Dude! Warn us!" Dayan said, as he was thrown onto his back.

"I did! I said 'hang on'!" CJ said. "Now hold on to something, because I'm not done yet!" He continued to drive back and forth, crushing every Bullymong they came across under the technical's tires, as Stacey fired the sawblades at the Rakks. CJ breathed a sigh of relief as he crushed the last Bullymong, just as the last of the Rakks came plummeting to the ground.

"Well, that was exciting." Shaylene said.

"Don't celebrate just yet." CJ said. "We're not even close to the Highlands. That's just one small victory." He continued to drive the technical up the mountainous terrain, soon reaching another gateway in the road. The gate slowly opened to an intersection, giving them the choice of going left or right.

"What now?" Aubrey asked.

"We go left." CJ said, taking a left turn. He drove a few hundred feet up the road, until they neared another Catch-A-Ride Station. However, near the station was also an Ammo Dump vending machine as well as a bulletin board with an ECHO device built into it, a statue of a man in a face-like mask sitting on a cone-shaped rock and reading a book, and another vending machine. On the front of the vending machine was a bottle with hands and feet, bearing a picture of a black haired man in a surgical mask. In red letters at the top of the machine was the phrase "Dr. Zed's Meds Etc.". Next to the two vending machines was a Fast Travel Station.

"What's that vending machine?" Dayan asked.

"A Health vending machine." CJ said. "Those usually hold Med Hypo needles, as well as something we could all use... Shields." He drove the technical up onto the Catch-A-Ride Station and hopped out. "I'd suggest everyone check out that machine and buy a Shield." He then walked over to the Fast Travel Station and scribbled the station's number on his ECHO's map. He then walked over to the Health Vendor. Next to it was a pair of yellow safes. He kicked them open and found some money inside. "This will help pay for the shields. See anything good?"

"I found a Maliwan Inert Shock Nova Shield." Stacey said. She tapped on the shield she wanted and a round device with a glowing center was digistructed in the bottom of the machine. Attached to the side was a honeycomb-like device, and atop the device was a small square piece.

"This should be nice." Alex said. "An Alkaline Maylay Shield. Aside from being Bandit, it's not bad. It even grants immunity to Corrosive Damage."

"Tediore Kiddie Shield?" Dayan asked.

"It's just a basic shield." CJ said. "I'd see if you can find something that grants immunity to Incendiary Damage."

"Neat. A Maliwan Inflexible Fire Spike Shield." Shaylene said.

"Nice. Go for it." CJ said. "Any enemies that attack you with melee will take Incendiary Damage." He checked the machine. "Sweet! An Anshin Anemic Adaptive Shield! Aubrey, grab whatever you think looks nice."

"How about this? A Maliwan Majestic Cryo Nova Shield?" Aubrey asked.

"Go for it. Ice resistance wouldn't be bad for you." CJ said. "Dayan, we'll find a fire resistant shield for you. Just grab that basic one for now."

"Okay." Dayan said. Everyone then jumped back into their seats in the technical.

"Is that Handsome Jack?" Aubrey asked.

"Yup." CJ said.

"Handsome Jack?" Dayan asked.

"President of the Hyperion Corporation, and main antagonist of Borderlands 2. Main ally in Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel." CJ said, as he started to drive along the highway again. "Spent Borderlands 2 trying to awaken a creature known as The Warrior. Wanted to cleanse Pandora of its Bandit and monster populations... Or at least Bandits. He had noble ambitions, but circumstances over the course of his life kinda drove him insane." It didn't take much longer before the gang reached a tunnel carved into the mountainside. "This tunnel will lead us to The Dust."

A few hours later, they emerged from the tunnel in a small canyon of brown rocks and red rust sand. Next to the tunnel's entrance was a Catch-A-Ride Station. CJ drove down the hillside, between a pair of walls, and a sandy, dune-covered landscape soon laid out before them. Small houses with slanted roofs rose up out of the sand in spots, and a small train station could be seen in the distance. Just barely visible under the sand was the highway.

"Welcome to the Dust, ladies and gentlemen." CJ said. "It shouldn't be much longer until we reach the Highlands."

"How much longer until we reach Sanctuary?" Stacey asked. "I'm starving. It feels like we've been out here for hours." CJ looked up at the sky to see that the sun was beginning to set.

"We have. Based on the fact that the sun's setting and it was probably midday when we were in the Badlands, I'd estimate that we've been out here for... 16 hours. I'm amazed nobody else has complained about hunger."

"16 hours?!" Dayan asked. "Shouldn't the sun have already set and risen by now?"

"Nope." CJ said. "Pandora has a 90-hour day. We haven't even come close to being on this planet for half a day." He soon rounded a bend in the highway, bringing them near an abandoned-looking gas station. Outside was an Ammo Dump vending machine and a Zed's Meds machine. He turned and took a sharp right and began driving on the sand.

"Dude, we're not on the road anymore." Dayan said.

"I know." CJ said. "We've gotta go off the marked path to get to the Highlands." He drove for a bit before they reached a Catch-A-Ride Station, a gateway, and a small outpost containing a Zed's Med machine, an Ammo Dump machine and a small hut. Standing outside the hut was a man in a strange-looking mask, dirty clothes, and a spiked shoulder pad. Written on a sign above the gate in sloppy lettering was the word "Highlands".

"Finally! The Highlands!" Stacey said.

"Nope." CJ said. "This is just the gate to the path to the Highlands. See that dam way off in the distance?" He pointed to a dam that could faintly be seen beyond the twilight beginning to coat the area. "That's where the Highlands are."

"God damnit." Stacey said.

"Excuse me..." CJ said to the man outside the hut.

"Heyooo." The man said.

"We're looking to get to the Highlands." CJ said.

"Heyooo." The man said, before pressing a switch that opened the gate. CJ drove through and continued driving along the rusty sand covered ground for a couple more hours. Before long, the sandy ground turned to rocks, and the rocks soon turned to grass. They soon passed through a small outpost gateway in a dried up riverbed. They followed the riverbed and came to a large metal and stone dam.

"Hm... dead end?" Alex asked.

"Yeah." CJ said. "Dead end. We'll need to double back and find a way up the old shore." Suddenly, the ground began to shake.

"What's going on?" Aubrey asked.

"Earthquake?" Dayan asked. Suddenly, a lizard-like creature popped its head out of the ground, along with several long tentacle-like appendages.

"Shit shit shit!" CJ said. "Fuckin' Threshers! Fire at will!"

"Who's Will?" Stacey asked.

"Just shoot the damn Threshers!" CJ said. Stacey began firing sawblades at the Threshers, as everyone else fired their guns. One by one, the Threshers fell, until only one remained. This one was larger than the others and was engulfed in flames.

"What is that thing?" Aubrey asked.

"A Badass Pyro Thresher." Alex said.

"God damnit, Hammerlock." CJ said. "Everyone focus fire on the flaming asshole!" Everyone started shooting at the Pyro Thresher.

"I'm running low!" Dayan said.

"Damnit, I'm dry!" Alex said.

"Shit! Last bullet!" CJ said.

"I'm out of bullets!" Stacey said.

"I'm out of power cells!" Shaylene said.

"Damn! No ammo!" Aubrey said. "Can I tame this thing?"

"Doubt it." CJ said. "It's too big."

"I'm out!" Dayan said. "Loki Turret, go!" Dayan quickly deployed his turret.

"Eat my laser!" Shaylene said.

"Ares! Ajax!" Alex said, summoning his golems.

"Ares and Ajax?" CJ asked.

"Ares, the Greek god of War and Ajax, the strongest of the Achaeans. Ares is my offense golem and Ajax is my defense golem." Alex said.

"Clever." CJ said. Before long, between the turrets and the golems, the Badass Pyro Thresher fell.

"Yeah! We did it!" Stacey said.

"Let's go." CJ said. He drove back down the riverbed toward The Dust, and soon came to a small hilly pathway leading up between some rocks. He followed the path up and soon was driving past a small cavern filled with strange nest-like formations made of a slimy substance. Suddenly, a group of strange scorpion like creatures appeared as if from nowhere. Their front legs had flaps of skins attached to them that were like bat wings, as well as razor sharp claws at the ends of their feet. At the tip of their tails were stingers and they had reptilian skin.

"Are those Stalkers?" Stacey asked, excitement in her voice.

CJ sighed. "...Yes." Stacey let out an excited shriek, which quickly grabbed the attention of the Stalkers, who all went invisible. "God damnit..." He slammed his foot on the gas and the technical was propelled forward at high speed.

"CJ! Watch out!" Shaylene shouted, as a rocket flew toward the technical. Unfortunately, CJ couldn't react fast enough and the rocket collided with the front of the vehicle, causing it to explode and sending everyone flying, knocking everyone but CJ and Shaylene unconscious upon impact.

"Shay... Are you okay?" CJ asked, struggling against the pain rippling through his body.

"Yeah... I think so..." Shaylene said. She struggled to get up when something suddenly struck her in the head, knocking her out.

"Shay!" CJ called out, before being slammed in the head as well. As he drifted in and out of consciousness, all he could see was a pair of legs covered in gray pants and red shin guards.


	3. The Crimson Raiders

**CHAPTER THREE: The Crimson Raiders**

CJ wearily awoke to find himself not in the grassy Highlands, but in a city somewhere. Next to him, tied to posts, were his friends, all still unconscious. In front of him were several people. Most of them wore a gray shirt, gray pants, crimson shin guards, crimson shoulder pads and breastplate. Some even wore a crimson helmet. But there were three people that stood out. Different from the armored soldiers. The first was a man in goggles, a red bandana, black shirt, gray pants, brown boots, and a red cloth wrapped around his left shoulder, chest and abdomen. On his back, wrapped up in the red cloth, was a sword. His black hair was tied into a ponytail. He was known as Mordecai the Hunter.

 **-Mordecai : He's just buzzed-**

The second was a 7 foot 3 inch tall behemoth of a man with a mostly shaved head, black vest, blue pants and black shirt. On his right arm were three scars that looked like they were made by some kind of very large claws and on his left arm, he had a tattoo of an "X". He had some kind of metal glove on his left hand and wrist and a chain around his waist. He was Brick the Berserker.

 **-Brick : Hope you like puppies-**

The final was a woman who was probably about 5 and a half feet tall. She wore a pink tube top with a gray vest that covered her shoulders, gray pants, and shoulder length red hair that was longer on the left side of her head than the right. Hanging around her waist was the shredded remains of a yellow shirt or jacket of some sort. Around her right elbow was a red band and she wore fingerless leather gloves. Starting at her neck and running down the left side of her body were strange blue tattoos. She was Lilith the Siren. The three were some of the most notable Vault Hunters to trek across the Borderlands of Pandora, and now led a resistance force known as the Crimson Raiders.

 **-Lilith : 'The creepy red one'-**

 _Well, we made it to Sanctuary..._ CJ thought. _With the 'help' of the Crimson Raiders... Probably think we're Bandits or something._ He glanced down at his yellow shirt. Written across it in black lettering was the word "Hyperion". _Shit... I picked the wrong day to wear this shirt..._

"You've got a lot to answer for." Lilith said. "What were you searching the Highlands for? What is Hyperion trying to find? Answer carefully, because if you don't, I _will_ kill you."

"We're not Hyperion." CJ said. "We're not even from Pandora. My friends and I ended up here by chance."

"If you're really off worlders, why were you wandering the Highlands?" Mordecai asked.

"We were trying to find a way off this death rock." CJ said. He heard a groan next to him and looked to his right to see Shaylene regaining consciousness.

"Wh-where are we?" She wondered, before feeling the restraints on her wrists and ankles. "Let me go! What do you want with us?!"

"If you're not Hyperion, why do you have Hyperion gear?" Lilith asked.

 _I can't tell them that we're from another world and they're just from a video game..._ CJ thought.

"Because CJ-" CJ quickly interrupted Shaylene.

"I found it." He said. "In the Arid. I was raiding the Info Stockade and I found this shirt. Thought it looked kinda cool. Figured I could snoop around any leftover Hyperion territory without issues. Didn't expect to get ambushed by the Raiders." It was then that Stacey and the others began to awaken.

"Where are we?" Stacey wondered.

"We're in Sanctuary." Alex said.

"You're captured under the authority of the Crimson Raiders." Lilith said.

"And why are we your prisoners?" Dayan asked.

"We found you wandering the Pandoran Highlands." Lilith said. "Armed, no less. You're lucky we didn't shoot you on the spot. Especially when one of your own is wearing a Hyperion shirt."

"Like I said, I found it in the Arid. And like I also said, we're from off world." CJ said, before anyone else could say anything about Pandora being a fictional video game world. "Trying to find a way off this God forsaken hunk of death. Not even sure how we got here. Well… I shouldn't say we're entirely unsure. Alex over there touched some kind of weird purple monolith and it just dropped us all in Fyrestone."

"Not my fault. Didn't know that would happen. Besides, like I said, better us than people without powers!" Alex said.

"Powers? What kind of powers?" Lilith asked.

"We all already had elemental powers." CJ said. "But when that rock dropped us on Pandora, we all seemed to gain new ones. Like this." He then vanished. The Crimson Raiders started looking around frantically.

"Relax. He's like Zer0." Lilith said. "Keep trained on the prisoners. I bet he'll reappear shortly." Seconds later, CJ reappeared, still bound, with every Crimson Raider's gun pointed at him.

"Look, we've established that we're not Hyperion." CJ said. "Or Bandits. Are you gonna cut us loose?"

"Lower your weapons, Raiders." Lilith said. The Crimson Raiders lowered their weapons. "Brick, Mordecai, go ahead and cut them loose." Brick and Mordecai walked over and cut CJ and his friends loose one by one.

"I'm not the only one with powers." CJ said. "Alex has a skill set comparable to your friend Gaige. Show 'em."

"Ares! Ajax! Let's go!" Alex said, summoning his two golems. Ajax hovered near Alex, while Ares scouted the area for threats.

"Dayan and Shaylene both have skills like Axton and the Raiders great former leader Roland." CJ said. "I'm sorry for your loss, by the way. Tales have stretched all across the universe of the Lanceman turned Vault Hunter."

Dayan and Shaylene stepped forward and the Raiders watched as the Loki Turret and Laser Turret were digistructed in front of them.

"Aubrey's a bit unique." CJ said. "She's got the ability to tame certain wild creatures across Pandora. And lastly, we have Stacey, who's got a skill I'm sure you'll find familiar, Lilith." Stacey stepped forward and Lilith noticed her tattoos before she even showed off her powers.

"A Siren." Lilith said. "But how do you know about our skills?"

"You think the stories of the Vault Hunters haven't spread around the universe?" CJ asked.

"So, you're off worlders." Lilith said. "What planet are you from? Eden-6? Dionysus? Themis?"

"Earth." CJ said. "It's a distant planet, in a far less developed and less inhabited part of the universe. Out of the 9… well... 8 planets surrounding our sun, Earth is the only one with any life that we know of. In fact, there are those on our planet don't even believe life exists anywhere else in the universe."

"And a weird monolith dropped you in the middle of the Arid?" Mordecai questioned.

"Yup." CJ said. "Not sure how. Or why. It just did. Any chance you can get us a way off this planet?"

"I may know a way off of Pandora." Lilith said. "However, you'll have to do some work for the Raiders first."

"What kind of work?" Shaylene asked.

"I've been hearing whispers of Hyperion troops in the Highlands." Lilith said. "That's the only reason we were out there in the first place. It's why we captured you. We're trying to figure out what Hyperion is up to. Find out why their troops are still poking around. Help us find out why, prove to us that you're not with Hyperion, and we'll see about getting you safe passage off of Pandora."

"See?" CJ asked. "No no no. We help you, and you grant us safe passage off of Pandora. No 'seeing' about it. We help you, you help us. Simple as that."

"You're on a city floating miles above the ground." Lilith said. "And technically still prisoners of the Crimson Raiders. You don't get to call the shots." CJ vanished, and within moments, appeared behind Lilith, taking her hostage. He pulled out his Jakobs revolver and held it to her head.

"Who's the prisoner now?" He asked, as the Raiders pointed their guns at him. "Can you shoot me without hitting Lilith?"

"CJ!" Shaylene cried out.

"We help you, you get us off of this shithole." CJ said. "That's not up for debate."

Lilith looked at the Raiders. "Lower your weapons. He's not gonna shoot me." She said.

"Are you sure of that?" CJ asked.

"Look, I can't guarantee an escape." Lilith said. "Anything out there could kill you before the job is done. And even if you succeed, I can't promise a ship out of here. I know someone who might be able to take you off the planet, but I can't guarantee that he can or even how far."

"Then find out." CJ said.

"Go find out for yourself." Lilith said. "Marcus Kincaid. Runs a weapon shop across town. Pick up some weapons while you're there. You'll need them out in the borderlands." CJ released her and she stepped back. The Raiders raised their weapons again.

"Should we shoot him, ma'am?" One of the Raiders asked.

"That's a Hell of a first impression to make." Lilith said. "We free you and you threaten to kill me. Maybe I should let my Raiders splatter you all over the pavement."

"Talking about first impressions?" CJ asked. "You're the one who had us captured."

"Can't take any chances out here." Lilith said. "We've been screwed by Hyperion one too many times."

"I know." CJ said. "I know what Jack did to Roland and Bloodwing. I know what happened to Jack. I know what happened to Hyperion. And I know what happened to Helios. You really think if we were Hyperion, we'd be wandering the Highlands, armed with only a couple of weapons?"

"He's got a point, Lilith." Mordecai said.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Lilith said. "Head up those stairs and take a right into the center of town. Head to the left of Pierce Station, the follow the road straight to reach Marcus Munitions. You can ask Marcus yourself if he can provide passage off of Pandora."

"Thanks." CJ said. "Though you were right. I wasn't gonna shoot you."

"I figured you were smart enough-"

"Didn't have any bullets." CJ said.

Mordecai and Brick snickered. Lilith couldn't help but chuckle.

"Not bad. Not bad at all. I'm already starting to like you, kid." Lilith said.

The Sages soon began exploring Sanctuary. It didn't take long to reach the center of the city. In the center of the city was a tall tower like structure, with an opening at the bottom through which the city's engine could be seen. Beyond it was a small building with a sign on it that read "Pierce Station". To the left of Pierce Station was a small path. CJ and the others headed down the path until they came across a Med Vendor that was slightly tipped over, leaning against a building. Beyond that was a doorway that looked more like a hole in the wall. Above it was a sign bearing a picture of a man with a mustache and goatee and a pair of revolvers, with lettering that read "GUNS" and above that, surrounding the picture of the man, were the words "Marcus Munitions".

"I think that might be Marcus Munitions." Dayan said.

"Nah." CJ said sarcastically. He led his friends through the doorway and down a set of stairs into a small room. In front of them was a counter, covered by a metal bars. To their left was a Gun Vendor and to their right was a large metal door. Behind the counter was hefty man who looked identical to the man pictured on the sign out front. He had brown hair with patches of gray, and brown facial hair. He wore an orange-yellow jacket with red shirt underneath, sleeves of the jacket rolled up and tan cargo pants. Behind him was a large safe and scattered around the counters behind the desk were piles of cash and ammo.

"Welcome to Marcus Munitions!" The man, Marcus Kincaid, said with a noticeable Eastern European accent. "No refunds."

 **-Marcus : No Refunds-**

"We don't want refunds." CJ said. "We want off this death rock."

"You want to get off Pandora? Ha!" Marcus said. "Oh... you're serious."

"Lilith said you may be able to provide us with safe passage off this planet." CJ said.

"No one gets off Pandora." Marcus said. "Though there was a small group. A couple of Hyperion stooges, a pair of con-artists, and some assholes who constantly get in the way of my business. Managed to build a rocket and fly to Helios. I'm sure you known Helios, Mr Hyperion."

"I'm not Hyperion." CJ said. "Found this shirt while raiding the Info Stockade."

"I don't know if you're brave or foolish for wearing that while wandering the Borderlands." Marcus said.

"So you're saying you can't help us." CJ said.

"I may be able to." Marcus said. "But you'll need to help me first."

"Of course." CJ said.

"We're already helping Lilith." Shaylene said. "Why not?"

"What's to say we have to help Lilith?" CJ said. "We get help Marcus and get off Pandora, we don't have to do shit for Lilith."

"We're prisoners of the Raiders." Alex said. "Who says we can even leave Sanctuary without the help of Lilith and the others?"

"Damn. Fair point." CJ said. "What do you need, Marcus?"

"I've heard whispers of weapon shipments dropping into Opportunity." Marcus said. "No one sells weapons on Pandora but me. I've made sure of that. I want you to look into it. You do that, and I may be able to get you an interplanetary shuttle."

"Well isn't that convenient? Lilith already wants us to scout the Highlands for Hyperion troops." CJ said.

"Perfect!" Marcus said. "You can look for my competitor at the same time. But first, you had better get some better weapons from the best arms dealer on Pandora: Marcus Munitions!"

"But we've got guns already." Aubrey said.

"Yes, but they mustn't be very good weapons if the Crimson Raiders caught you without a fight." Marcus said.

"Who said there wasn't a fight?" CJ said.

"The Raiders came back with six prisoners and no wounds." Marcus said. "I know there wasn't a fight."

"We were dry." CJ said. "And they snuck up on us."

"It's 'sneaked'." Aubrey said.

"Dude, the Grammar Nazi just got Grammar Nazied." Dayan whispered to Alex.

"I heard that." CJ said. "As I was saying, it was a surprise attack. And we had no ammo."

"All the more reason to buy more weapons." Marcus said. "Let me see what you've got already." CJ and the others put their weapons up on the counter.

"Here." CJ said.

"Ah, these are some good weapons." Marcus said. "A Jakobs revolver, a Maliwan SMG, a Torgue Spitter, a Dahl Defender, a Dahl Jackal and... I'll be damned! A laser weapon?! Where did you get that?"

"We found it in the Arid." CJ said. "Along with the other weapons. Is it that weird to see a laser weapon on Pandora?"

"I'm the only supplier of laser weapons." Marcus said. "Or... I should be. I'm still working on getting them here from Elpis. But it looks like some asshole beat me to the punch. I need to fix that. I'll tell you what, you figure out who's supplying these laser weapons too and I'll throw in some extra cash with that ride off Pandora."

"We'll see what we can do." CJ said.

"Good." Marcus said. "Now, let's get you some better weapons. Here are my wares." Marcus pulled out a small device which displayed a holographic menu showing off a series of weapons.

"This looks cool." Alex said, selecting a red assault rifle with a thick barrel and large square shaped ammo drum filled with an ammo belt.

"Ah, a Fast Bulets Sawbar." Marcus said. "A Bandit Assault Rifle, but the Incendiary damage more than certainly makes up for the subpar brand name."

"This looks cool." Aubrey said, grabbing a blue-and-white striped SMG with black edges, a black stock, and yellow lettering on the top of the gun that read "Tediore".

"A Quality Subcompact MG." Marcus said. "Nothing too special, but being a Tediore, instead of reloading, you throw it and digistruct a new one in its place. Also, it explodes like a grenade when thrown."

"That's pretty cool." Aubrey said.

"Me next!" Stacey said, selecting a weapon similar in appearance to Aubrey's, except parts of it were glowing red. "This looks cool!"

"A Toasty Kindle." Marcus said. "Another Tediore. However, this one has Incendiary capabilities."

"Sweet! Time to burn things!" Stacey said.

"There's something you'd never expect out of a water elemental's mouth." CJ said.

"Yeah but I can light things on fire, put out the fire with water and then light them on fire again." Stacey said.

"Well that's a bit sinister." Dayan said.

"Stacey has her moments." CJ said. "You're up."

"All right, let's see what we've got here." Dayan said, scanning his options. "This looks cool." He made a selection and a red, orange and black SMG with a round ammo drum on the side appeared was digistructed in front of him. The ammo drum was mostly light blue and had a silhouette of a bird of prey in flight on it.

"That's a special one." Marcus said. "Going to cost a bit extra. I got that from a Vault Hunter named Athena. She found that gun in the Vault on Elpis. The Arctic Frostfire."

"Any chance this might be enough to pay for it?" CJ asked, putting down a purple bar-shaped gemstone.

"An off-worlder who's already managed to find Eridium? I'm impressed." Marcus said.

"So is it payment enough?" CJ asked.

"It's more than enough." Marcus said. "For that, I'll throw in a Grenade Mod for each of you. As well as 3 Protean Grenades each."

"Do we get to pick our mods?" CJ asked.

"From what I have in stock, yes." Marcus said, as a second menu appeared in front of them, displaying a bunch of small grenade-shaped devices. They varied in color and had different things attached to them. He pressed a button on his shop device and a box of round gray capsule like devices was digistructed on the counter. "Here. Grenades." Each of the Sages grabbed 3.

"You're being generous." CJ said, somewhat suspicious.

"I might as well arm you well enough to defend yourselves. Don't want you to die before you find out who's taking all my sales." Marcus said.

"That sounds more like it." CJ said. He scanned the menu and clicked on a red and silver cylindrical device with a checkered flag pattern on the back side of it. "I'll take this one."

"Ah yes, a Torgue Lobbed Mirv." Marcus said. "When that explodes, it spawn several child grenades. A fantastic choice."

"This one looks cool." Alex said, stepping up and choosing what looked like a simple silver grenade. Painted on the side was a red hammer and sickle. Attached to the mod was a lever like device.

"That is a Vladof Homing Fire Burst." Marcus said. "Not only does it do damage upon the initial explosion, but it leaves behind a cloud of fire for a short time after."

"My turn." Dayan said, scanning the menu. "This one." He selected a simple looking grenade, covered with a pixelated green camouflage.

"A Dahl Lobbed Cryo Bouncing Betty." Marcus said. "The grenade itself will bounce up and down, firing icy projectiles around it. Great for freezing off Bandits' faces."

Aubrey stepped forward and chose next, selecting one that looked similar to Alex's. Except instead of the strange piece on the side, this had four small pieces of metal sticking out of the bottom of it. Each piece gave off a slight green glow.

"A Vladof Lobbed Corrosive Cloud." Marcus said. "Much like the Fire Burst, when it explodes, it leaves behind a cloud of acid. Instead of freezing or burning Bandits' faces off, you can melt them off. It also works great on robots."

"Ooh what's this?" Stacey asked, selecting a round grenade with a large rod-like piece attached to the back. The piece as well as the bottom half of the grenade were covered in an orange, hexagonal, almost scale-like pattern. The top half was flat and round and looked like the ammo drum on Stacey's gun.

"A Maliwan Homing Incendiary Transfusion." Marcus said. "That will home in on nearby enemies, light them on fire, and suck away their energy to give to you!"

"Sweet!" Stacey said. She looked at Shaylene and smirked. "Oh but it's the last one. So sorry."

"Hey Marcus, I've got a Grenade Mod I'm not using. Gimme some moolah?" A new voice said. The gang turned to the entrance and saw a girl around 18. She had red hair that was tied into two pigtails, green eyes, and wore goggles on her head, a denim vest, red skirt and red t-shirt with a skull on it. The right sleeve was torn and was basically hanging on her arm like an armband. Around her neck was a metal ring with a few nuts and bolts on it, and her left arm was mechanical. She was Gaige, the Mechromancer.

 **-Gaige : Smash the system!-**

"Actually, this young lady is looking for a Grenade Mod." Marcus said. "Give her the mod."

"Do I get cash?" Gaige asked.

"Yeah sure, whatever." Marcus said. He tossed Gaige a wad of cash. "The Eridium these folks gave me already paid for their grenade mods. And then some."

"Cool." Gaige said. "Here ya go." She tossed Shaylene a mod almost identical to Stacey's, except it was missing the long piece on the side and it gave off a slight blue glow. "It's a Maliwan Lightning Bolt. It's rare. I definitely suggest giving it a try when you get outside."

"Thanks." Shaylene said.

"So what brings you guys to Pandora?" Gaige asked. She then noticed CJ's Hyperion shirt. "Wait a sec… So you guys are the people that Lilith and the other Radiers caught in the Highlands?"

"We are." CJ said. "And we're not Hyperion."

Gaige chuckled. "I know. The name's Gaige by the way."

"Yeah, we know. You're one of Pandora's famous Vault Hunters." CJ said. "The Mechromancer."

"So, what brings you guys to Pandora?" Gaige asked.

"Freak accident." CJ said. "Alex over there touched some weird rock back on our home planet and it dropped us here."

"Yeah, but it was SHINY!" Stacey exclaimed.

CJ sighed. "Yes, hun..." He said. "So yeah. Freak accident. We're trying to find a way home. Lilith said Marcus here might be able to get us home. As long as we're willing to help her, of course."

"Yeah. I heard she was sending you guys back out to the Highlands to look for Hyperion." Gaige said.

"She said if we do some odd jobs, she can try to help us get off Pandora." CJ said.

"If you're heading back out into the Highlands, I'd suggest swinging by Dr Zed's and grabbing some good shields." Gaige said. "And maybe some Insta-Healths."

"Thanks." CJ said. "We'll definitely do that." He and the others turned to walk out.

"You two can grab weapons as well." Marcus said, looking at CJ and Shaylene.

"I'm good with my revolver." CJ said.

"And I'm gonna try to find another laser." Shaylene said.

A short time later, the Sages walked into a small building not far from the center of the city. Above the door was a round sign above a sign of a needle filled with red liquid. The sign read "Dr. Zed". The gang walked into the building and were greeted by an older man with brownish gray hair with gray patches on the side, dressed in green scrubs and a surgical mask.

 **-Dr. Zed : Hope you've had your shots-**

"Greetings folks. Need some healing?" Dr Zed said with a slight Southern accent.

"Just shopping for shields." CJ said. "Well, he's shopping for a shield." He pointed to Dayan.

"Take a look and see what you like." Dr Zed said, pointing to a nearby Med Vendor. Dayan walked over, scanned the holographic menu and quickly selected a shield, noticing the phrase "Grants Immunity to Burn Damage" on the shield's description.

"A Vladof Inflammable Absorb Shield." Dr Zed said. "In addition to the burn immunity it grants, it has the chance to absorb enemy bullets and add them to your own supply."

"Cool." Dayan said, handing Zed some money as the shield was digistructed in front of him. "I'll take it." He clipped it to his waist. A white light briefly coated him before vanishing.

"All right, I think we're good." CJ said. "Let's head back out to the Highlands. Oh wait! One more thing..." He walked over to the vendor, pressed some buttons on the menu, and a bunch of needles filled with red liquid were digistructed in a small bin near the bottom of the machine. CJ grabbed them, handing 5 each to the other Sages.

"Health! Jam it into your veins!" Stacey said, chuckling. "I love that."

"What are these?" Dayan asked.

"Insta-Healths." Dr Zed said. "They'll heal up any wounds you get while you're out in the field... for the most part."

With that, the Sages departed Zed's office, bound for the Pandoran Highlands.


	4. Lost Tales

**CHAPTER FOUR: Lost Tales**

After spending the night in town, and after having been led out of Sanctuary by Lilith and the Raiders, the Sages found themselves now standing at a Fast Travel Station in a small town nestled atop a cliff in the Highlands. Floating high above them was Sanctuary. Day had broken once again.

"Okay, so Lilith sent us down to Overlook, which means we're not far from Opportunity." CJ said. "If we head down this hill, we can get a Bandit Technical and drive ourselves there." The gang headed downhill from the Fast Travel Station, passing a few houses along the way, until they passed a line of bollards and a sign that read "Overlook". To their left was a Catch-A-Ride. CJ ran over to the Catch-A-Ride and digistructed a Bandit Technical. CJ hopped in the driver's seat, Stacey climbed into the turret, Shaylene jumped into the passenger seat, and everyone else climbed into the back.

Everyone took a moment to breathe in the scenery and the technical cruised down the hill along a tall cliff side near Overlook. Green fields, the sandy Dust in the distance, the majestic Bloodshot damn...The technical turned into a short tunnel and emerged in another part of the Highlands. Flowing down from the cliffs above was a small stream that cascaded over the rocks and cliffs across the area. As they followed the road, they passed a small wooden platform that housed a Med Vendor, Ammo Dump and Fast Travel Station, labeled "Highlands – Hyperion Bridge". CJ stopped the technical, hopped out and ran over to the Fast Travel Station.

"What are you doing?" Shaylene asked.

"Same thing I've done at every Fast Travel Station." CJ said, as his map appeared in front of him and he scribbled a number down on it, at the location of the Hyperion Bridge Fast Travel Station. "Marking the Fast Travel code for this location." He then jumped back into the driver's seat of the technical. "That way, if need be, we can Fast Travel back here." He gazed at the scenery laid out ahead of them. The road curved around a small sandy slope, some small rocky cliff sides, and onto a long bridge that led to a city situated on an elevated platform over a very large lake. He accelerated the technical, racing down the road and quickly turning onto the bridge. It didn't take too long before he pulled the technical into the city gates.

Spanning out around them was a large, futuristic city. Marking many of the buildings was the Hyperion logo: a slanted "H" with the horizontal line cut out and replaced by the word "Hyperion". Flying around the city were small winged drones and walking around were yellow, humanoid robots. In front of them was a Med Vendor, Ammo Dump and Marcus Munitions machine, as well as a bulletin board with an ECHO device attached to it, known as a Bounty Board.

"Opportunity looks different." Alex said.

"Hyperion must have finished construction of the city." CJ said.

"They didn't cease operations after Jack's death?" Alex wondered.

"No good reason to." CJ said. "Opportunity's construction was already well along, and I'm sure a lot of people, Hyperion or otherwise, already had ownership of homes in the city. Hyperion wouldn't just stop building the city and miss out on money."

"True. But for a Hyperion city, it sure seems lacking in Hyperion personnel." Alex said. "Or people in general."

"I agree." Shaylene said. "This seems weird. I thought Lilith said that Hyperion was out here."

"She said there were whispers of Hyperion being in the Highlands." CJ said. "Let's keep checking out the city. We may find something." He then walked over to the weapon vendor and activated the menu. He scanned it and quickly found a weapon that interested him. "Perfect. I hoped I might find something like this in a Hyperion city." He selected the weapon and it was digistructed in front of him. It was a yellow and black sniper rifle with a fancy scope and a red line running from barrel to stock. "The Longitudinal Policy. A Hyperion sniper."

"I should've known you'd go for a Hyperion weapon." Alex said.

"Oh shut it." CJ said. "You can't fight that accuracy." He then led the others around a building and toward the center of town. As they neared the center, they saw a large underground shopping center.

"What's that down there?" Aubrey asked, pointing to a group of people near the fountain in the shopping center.

"Shit... Everyone over there." CJ pointed to the sidewalks above the shopping center. "Get out of sight." Everyone rushed over to the sidewalks, out of sight from the group below. "Glad I bought this sniper." They looked down at the people below. Several were simple people who looked like they had just come out of a business meeting or an office building. Others were wearing yellow exoskeleton suits and carrying assault rifles, sniper rifles and shotguns. The rest of the group looked similar to the soldiers in Sanctuary, except their outfits looked newer and they wore what looked like fancy jetpacks.

"Are those Crimson Lance?" Alex asked. "I thought they were abandoned when Atlas left Pandora."

"They were." CJ said. "But in Tales from the Borderlands, Rhys got the rights to the Atlas Corporation, and it's not impossible to assume that he rebuilt both Atlas and the Crimson Lance. Of course, Tales was never clear on what happened to Rhys. After he reached Jack's office, Jack tried to force an immortality suit into Rhys's body so that Jack could use it to bring himself back to power. Rhys fought back, escaped Jack's office, and ultimately ended up sending Helios plummeting down to Pandora in pieces. Jack tried one last time to force his AI back into Rhys's body, but Rhys stopped him by tearing out his own cybernetics. Not entirely sure what happened with Rhys after that, but he found a way to get new cybernetics, and likely started to rebuild Atlas. Most of the Helios workers scattered across Pandora, some becoming Bandits. But some, including Rhys's best friend Vaughn, stayed behind and built a base out of the ruins of Helios, calling themselves the Children of Helios. They began searching for the pieces of the Gortys Project, an Atlas made robot built in the hopes of beating Hyperion to the riches of a Vault. Rhys, Vaughn, and their friends Fiona and Sasha had already found most of Gortys before. That's what led them to Helios in the first place. Gortys's final piece. The piece they needed to track down and open the Vault of the Traveler. After the fall of Helios, Fiona managed to track down Gortys, who had been stolen by Vallory, a Pandoran crime lord of sorts, after the Vault had already been opened. Gortys begged Fiona to destroy her-"

"Her?" Dayan asked.

"Gortys." CJ said.

"The robot has a gender?" Alex asked.

"Are you surprised?" CJ asked.

"No. Not really."

"Ok. As I said, Gortys told Fiona to destroy her, because she was the thing keeping the Vault open, and in turn, keeping the Vault monster on Pandora." CJ said. "Fiona, with the help of Sasha, managed to shoot Gortys, destroying her and scattering her pieces around Pandora, but not before Vallory was killed by the Traveler, the monster within the Vault. Following Gortys's destruction and the closing of the Vault, Fiona returned to her former life and Rhys presumably spent time rebuilding Atlas, until they were captured by a mysterious stranger, who dragged them around Pandora, collecting the pieces of Gortys and asking them to recount their tales of what happened in their first search for Gortys and the Vault. By the time it was all said and done, they discovered Vaughn, the Children of Helios and that the Stranger was one of their friends, a Hyperion Loader Bot named... well, Loader Bot."

"Wait, the Loader is _named_ Loader Bot?" Alex asked.

"Yes." CJ said.

"So why did he disguise himself and kidnap his friends?" Dayan asked.

"When the gang escaped Helios during its destruction, Loader Bot knew there weren't enough escape pods for him to escape with them, so he asked Fiona to keep Gortys safe." CJ said. "After Helios crashed, Loader Bot, barely functional, witness Fiona destroy Gortys, thus breaking her promise in his eyes."

"But she needed to in order to save Pandora!" Shaylene said.

"Yes. And Loader Bot eventually saw that." CJ said. "After witnessing Gortys's destruction, he dragged himself to the ruins of Jack's office, and connected his main core to the immortality suit that Jack tried to force into Rhys. He then donned a Hyperion chemical containment suit, in order to hide his identity, and set off in search of Rhys, Fiona and the Gortys pieces. He didn't reveal his identity to Rhys and Fiona because he was afraid that they would lie if they knew it was him. After hearing their stories, he staged a rescue at the hands of Vaughn, who 'captured' the Stranger and took him, along with Rhys and Fiona back to the base where the Children of Helios now resided. Loader Bot soon revealed his identity and said he and the Children of Helios had a plan to reopen the Vault of the Traveler and destroy the monster inside, thus effectively opening the Vault AND saving Gortys. Long story short, they reassembled Gortys, opened the Vault and destroyed the Traveler."

"And what did they find in the Vault?" Alex asked. "Treasure? Weapons? An artifact like on Elpis?"

"No idea." CJ said. "Rhys and Fiona went into the Vault together, opened the mysterious chest inside, and-"

"And what?" Alex asked.

"What happened?" Dayan said.

"Don't leave us in suspense!" Aubrey said.

"They vanished." CJ said. "The chest opened, Rhys and Fiona disappeared, and Tales from the Borderlands ended there. No one knows what was in the Vault or what happened to the Atlas President and the Pandoran con artist."

"So... where does that tie into this?" Alex asked.

"Well, Rhys presumably reassembled the Lance and may have merged them with Hyperion forces, seeing as how Jack made him president of Hyperion depending on how you played." CJ said. "Let's eavesdrop on these guys and see what's going on?" Everyone went quiet and they focused on the group below them.

"Atlas Team Alpha, status?" Asked a man with well-groomed brown hair and beard. His hair was tied back in a small ponytail, and he was relatively toned. He wore a black vest, blue green hood and gray pants.

 **-Vaughn : A real bro, bro. Seriously, bro-**

"Nothing in the Dead Sands, Sir." Said a Crimson Lanceman.

"Bravo Team?" Vaughn asked.

"Nothing in the Frozen Wastes, Sir." Another Lanceman said.

"Hyperion Recon Team?" Vaughn asked.

"Nothing of note in any Hyperion territory." A Hyperion sniper said.

"Come on Rhys, where are you?" Vaughn mumbled.

"Vaughn, how do we even know that Fiona and Rhys are even still on Pandora?" Asked a women with light brown skin, short dark brown hair, a red headband, red top that covered her chest down to her waist, black shirt that covered her left shoulder and arm, and brown pants.

 **-Sasha : Check your pockets-**

"Sasha, please..." Vaughn said. "We can't give up hope."

"Are those the characters from Tales?" Alex asked.

"Yeah." CJ said. "It sounds like Atlas and the Children of Helios are working together to track down Rhys and Fiona. Let's get back to Lilith and report what we found." The group left the city, hopped back into the technical and drove to the Hyperion Bridge Fast Travel Station, where CJ used the Fast Travel code for Sanctuary that Lilith had given him to get back to Sanctuary.

They emerged in the center of town, within Pierce Station. They walked out and headed toward the Crimson Raiders HQ, where Lilith waited.

"What did you find?" Lilith asked.

"A mix of Hyperion troops and Atlas troops." CJ said. "Looking for someone named Rhys, from what we could gather."

"So they still haven't found him..." A new voice said. Everyone turned and saw a new face had walked into the headquarters: A woman with shoulder-length blue hair and blue eyes, wearing a gray bodysuit, red breastplate, red kneecap on her right knee, a brown vest and a blueish-gray scarf. Attached to her outer left thigh was an ECHO device.

 **-Athena : She's done Vault Hunting... Honest-**

"You know about them?" Lilith asked.

"I've told you about the Vault of the Traveler..." Athena said.

"Same people?" Lilith asked.

"Same people." Athena said. "Call themselves the Children of Helios."

"Do you know where they make their base?" Lilith asked.

"Yes." Athena said.

"Can you take these off-worlders there?" Lilith asked. "I want them to investigate the base. See what they can find."

"Why?" CJ asked. "We've already found out what Hyperion's doing out in the Highlands. We did what you asked. Why can't you help us find a way off this planet?"

"Because I want you to find out more about the Vault." Lilith said.

"You're the Vault Hunter. Why can't you do it?" CJ questioned.

"Because I'm busy making sure Sanctuary runs smoothly." Lilith said. "Do you want off Pandora or not?"

CJ sighed. "Fine. We'll go check it out."

"Good. Report back to me as soon as possible." Lilith said.

"Just give me a few." Athena said. "I've got something to take care of before I leave town." Athena exited the HQ, with the Sages in tow, she headed through town to a garage adjacent to where the Sages were held hostage when first brought to Sanctuary. Inside the garage, fiddling with a dune buggy like vehicle, known as an Outrunner, was a woman with short blonde hair that came down just past her ears and blue eyes, who whore gray pants, a black crop top, and red vest with a furry neckline. Around her neck was a small necklace with a tooth on it, and around her head was gray headband. Various scars were visible scattered around her body.

 **-Janey Springs : Mechanic. Kraggon Killer. Athena's Fiancée-**

"Hi honey." Janey said with an Australian accent. "Are these the off-worlders Lilith captured earlier?"

"Yes." Athena said. "Lilith wants me to escort them to the Vault of the Traveler."

"Don't stick your neck out too much." Janey said. "You're rustier than you used to be."

"I know." Athena said.

"What made Lilith set a guy free when he's wearing a Hyperion shirt?" Janey asked.

"I think being an off-worlder helped." Athena said.

"I'm right here, you know." CJ said.

"Let's go." Athena said. "We've got a lot of ground to cover."

"How much daylight do we have?" CJ asked.

Athena checked her ECHO. "Enough. Don't worry." She led the Sages through Sanctuary to the Fast Travel Station. She activated the station and they soon found themselves in an area surrounding by tall cliffs and rocks. The ground was sand and rocks, and lava could be seen in pools in the area and through cracks in some of the rocks. Built into one of the far cliffs was a large metal door, and beyond that, in the distance, was a large metal structure that somewhat resembled the letter "H". It was in pieces, with the horizontal part of the letter and some of the vertical parts remaining the most intact. In the center was a large round window.

Opposite the door, several hundred yards away from Athena and the Sages was a stone archway, and in front of it, on the ground, was the shell of a large silver robot. It had a round body, large legs, small arms and its head was built into the upper part of its body. Attached to the top was an antenna, and the left half of its body and left leg were red.

"Gortys and the Vault of the Traveler…" CJ said.

"So you know about it." Athena said.

"A little bit." CJ said. "I've heard some tales."

"Good." Athena said. "Aubrey, I want you, Alex and Dayan to go check out the Vault of the Traveler." She pointed to the archway.

"I'm sorry… You want us to explore the thing that made two people vanish without a trace?" Alex asked.

"You want off Pandora or not?" Athena said.

"Alex, let's just do it." Dayan said. "Maybe if we're lucky, it'll freak accident teleport us back home."

"Fine." Alex said. "You up for it, Aubrey?"

"Hell yeah." Aubrey said.

"Good." Athena said. "CJ, I want you and the girls to come with me to check out the Ruins of Helios."

"Hyperion's old space station?" CJ asked. "I've got the shirt for it."

"Now that everyone's got their assignments, let's go." Athena said.

 _ **Meanwhile…**_

A young man walked through a town nestled in a large cavern on the edge of one of Pandora's many deserts, the Rust Commons. He had blue eyes and a beard that covered just his chin, his blond hair was spiked and he wore a red vest, blue t-shirt, and jeans. His right nostril and right ear were pierced.

He walked into a small building down a side street. Inside, using various tools and gadgets on the remains of a red Loader Bot, was a man in a yellow Hyperion shirt, black slacks, goggles and leather shoes.

"Ah, August! What brings you here today?" The man tinkering with the Loader asked.

"I've got some tech you might be interested in." The blond man, August, said.

"Ooh, is it Hyperion?" The man asked. "I do love my Hyperion gadgets and gizmos."

"Only the Hyperioniest Hyperion gear." August said. August reached into his vest pocket and pulled out a small box. He opened it, revealing a blue lens-like device about as big as a contact lens but a bit thicker. Attached to one side of the device was a long wire.

"Is that… an ECHO eye?" The tech wiz asked.

"That it is." August said. "The very same ECHO eye that used to belong to Rhys."

"The Atlas President?"

"That's him." August said.

"How much do you want? Name your price!" The tech wiz said in a frenzy. "I need that to complete my collection!" He pointed behind him to a table that held a yellow robotic arm and a small cylindrical device with some type of connector port in one end and a bunch of wires at the other.

"Let's say… 5 million." August said. "I went through a lot to get this ECHO eye."

"Deal!" The tech wiz said. "Give me one hour!"

"Done." August said. He held out his hand and the tech wiz quickly shook it.

"Thank you." The tech wiz said.

Back in the canyon, Alex, Aubrey and Dayan were staring in awe at the archway leading into the Vault of the Traveler.

"So how do we get in?" Aubrey asked. Almost as if to answer her question, the archway was illuminated by a bright light, which expanded within the archway to form a doorway. They stepped through the doorway and found themselves in a large cavernous area, filled with floating platforms. The area was bathed in a blue hue, and bluish-white light patterns ran along the walls and platforms.

"Whoa…" Dayan gasped.

"It's… beautiful…" Aubrey said. Laid out before them were a series of floating platforms that aligned to form a set of stairs leading to a large platform floating in the center of the abyss. Sitting atop the platform was a floating puzzle-like cube. It was opened and the pieces were somewhat disconnected, but overall, its shape resembled a treasure chest.

"That must be the Vault treasure." Alex said.

"You mean the thing that made those other people disappear?" Dayan asked.

"Yeah." Alex said. "That thing."

"So what are we supposed to be looking for anyway?" Aubrey asked.

"No idea." Alex said.

"Awesome." Dayan said. "So we're just exploring a giant treasure room with no clue about what we're supposed to look for."

"I… guess so." Alex said.

"Sounds like a plan." Dayan said.

As Aubrey and the guys stood confused inside the Vault, Athena led CJ and the girls through the metal door in the nearby cliffs to the Ruins of Helios.

"Welcome to what's left of Helios Space Station." Athena said. "Now home to the Children of Helios, a band of former… or maybe current Hyperion employees, I guess. The few that didn't run off into the wilds of Pandora and become Bandits and Psychos. I'm not really sure what's left of Hyperion."

"So what exactly are we looking for?" Stacey asked.

"Anything, I guess." Athena said. "Lilith wasn't exactly clear on what she wanted you guys to look for out here."

"In that case, I'm gonna go explore the rest of the ruins." CJ said.

"I'm coming too!" Shaylene said.

"No. You stay here with Stacey and Athena." CJ said. "See what you guys can find here. Look for anything that might interest Lilith."

"Like what?" Stacey asked.

"Hyperion intel, I guess." CJ said. "Maybe see what Hyperion's been up to since the possible merge with the newly reborn Atlas Corporation."

"Got it." Shaylene said. CJ exited the base and started combing through the rubble of Hyperion's once glorious space station. It didn't take long before he found himself in what seemed like the remains of an office. And a nice one at that. A large desk was toppled over in front of him, and a torn, broken, nice-looking leather chair was on the ground near the desk… in pieces. Not too far away, toppled over and a bit messy, was a set of shelves, packed with all kinds of gadgets and things.

"Is that… Jack's prize shelf?" CJ wondered. He walked over to the shelf and started scanning the items. A purple cowboy hat, several red-and-silver machine parts, a beard glued to a mannequin head. "Hm… I think that might be Tassiter's pedo mustache." He continued to examine the shelf until he came across two gray feathers and a black and yellow pistol with a red stripe going from barrel to handle. He grabbed the feathers and stared at them for a moment. "…Bloodwing…" He held the feathers down near his ECHO and they vanished in a flash of white light. He then grabbed the pistol and examined. "A Hyperion pistol… that'll come in handy." He then held the pistol down by his ECHO and it vanished as well. "I wonder what else I can find around here…" His ECHO then started beeping.

"CJ… Can you hear me?" A voice rang out from the speaker.

"Shay? What's up?" CJ responded.

"You gotta get back here." Shaylene said. "I found something that you might want to see."

"I'm on my way." CJ said. He headed back through the ruins until he reached the base again. "What's up? What did you find?"

"This." Shaylene said. "Check this out." She motioned CJ over to the computer she was standing near. He ran over and started scanning the file she had open.

"What is it?" Stacey asked.

"Where's Athena?" CJ asked.

"She went over to the Vault of the Traveler to check on Aubrey and the guys." Shaylene said. "Why?"

"Stacey, keep a lookout for her." CJ said. "She can't hear or see this."

"Ok." Stacey said, somewhat confused. "Why? What did you find?"

"The base computers seem to still be connected to the Helios database." CJ said. "This is a file detailing the recovery of two bodies by Hyperion. One in Thousand Cuts – at the Control Core and one in the Vault of the Warrior."

"Are you saying…?" Shaylene started to question but CJ stopped her.

"Angel and Jack." CJ said. "Hyperion recovered their bodies." He continued scanning the files. "And it looks like they were taken to some kind of lab out in the Nexus."

"The Arid Nexus?" Shaylene asked.

"Yeah." CJ said. "Possibly near Fyrestone. I say we go looking for it."

"Why?" Stacey asked. "What are you planning?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure." CJ said. "I just… feel like something's calling me to find that lab."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Shaylene asked.

"Hell no." CJ said. "But this is Pandora, the planet of bad ideas."

"Athena's coming!" Stacey said. CJ quickly connected his ECHO to the computer, downloading the file before quickly closing it. Athena entered the base shortly after, where CJ was still tinkering with the computer.

"So, what did you find?" Athena asked. CJ opened his ECHO's menu and selected his pistol and the feathers.

"A nice Hyperion pistol." CJ said. "And these…"

"Feathers?" Shaylene asked.

"From Bloodwing." CJ said. "Mordy's bird."

"Where did you find those?" Athena asked.

"I stumbled across what I'm assuming to be the ruins of Handsome Jack's office." CJ said.

"Anything else of worth in there?" Athena asked.

"Not that I found." CJ said.

"What about you two? Find anything?" Athena asked.

"Nothing we didn't already know." Stacey said. "Rhys and Fiona vanished after entering the Vault of the Traveler. Atlas is a subdivision of Hyperion. Rhys is president. The Crimson Lance has been reformed, and are searching for any clues to the whereabouts of Rhys and Fiona."

 _ **Meanwhile, back in Hollow Point…**_

"Pleasure doing business with you, August." The tech wiz said.

"You too, Jesper." August said, walking out. As soon as August left, Jesper connected the ECHO eye to the head port, and then connected both to his computer.

"All right… Let's see what kind of secrets you're hiding." Jesper said. His computer screen went dark before a bluish hologram of a man appeared on it. He bore a striking resemblance to the statue the Sages witnessed in the Eridium Blight. His hair was combed up, back and to the left, making kind of a wave of hair atop his head. He wore a button-up shirt, vest and jacket. The jacket was open, showing the vest and button-up shirt, and the neck of the shirt was open enough to reveal a t-shirt underneath. Attached to the left side of the jacket was a hexagonal device with a round piece in the middle. Covering his face was a mask of a normal human face.

"Finally!" The holo-man said. "I've been trapped in that kid's damn cybernetics forever!"

"Whoa…." Jesper gasped.

"What? What are you looking at, kid? Is there something on my face?"

"Handsome Jack…" Jesper said.

"That is my name." The holo-man said. "Now, who the hell are you?"

"My name is Jesper, sir. I'm a collector of rare and valuable technology. Mostly Hyperion. I found this head port and arm while exploring the ruins of Helios. And a man by the name of August sold me that ECHO Eye."

"Yeah, I remember that tool." Jack said. "Damn, I really hoped Rhysie was gonna kill him. Ok, new question. Where the hell am I?"

"Hollow Point, Mr Jack." Jesper said. "My shop. I connected the cybernetics to my computer."

"Oh good." Jack said. He disappeared for a moment and a file appeared on screen. "See this?" Jesper scanned the file. "I've connected you to the Helios database. What's left of it anyway. Somehow it's still up and running. This file details the recovery of my body from the Vault of the Warrior. It's in a lab in the Nexus. Get me there. I need to get my body back."

"Why should I?" Jesper asked.

"Because if you don't, I'll moonshot this whole pathetic town!" Jack said. "Damnit wait. That idiot Rhys destroyed Helios. I can't do that." He thought for a moment. "Because I'll make it worth your while."

"How worth my while?" Jesper asked.

"You'll be very handsomely rewarded." Jack said. "Money, power, girls. Take your pick."

"Hyperion tech?" Jesper asked.

"Yeah, sure kid." Jack said. "Why not? Just get me to my damn body!" Jesper quickly connected a data drive to his computer.

"Wait… How is this going to help you?" Jesper asked.

"Don't sweat the details." Jack said. "Leave that to me." Jesper uploaded Jack's AI to the data drive, unplugged it, connected it to his ECHO and left his shop, bound for the Arid Nexus.


	5. Return of the King

**CHAPTER FIVE: Return of the King**

CJ and the girls exited the Ruins of Helios as Aubrey and the guys walked out of the Vault of the Traveler.

"Find anything?" CJ asked.

"Absolutely nothing." Alex said. "You?"

"Possibly." CJ said. "Let's head back to Sanctuary and I'll fill you in." They walked over to the Fast Travel Station, where CJ punched in Sanctuary's code and they were teleported to the safety of Pierce Station.

"My job is done." Athena said. "I'm going to see my fiancée now." Athena headed toward Janey's garage, while the Sages made their way back to the Crimson Raiders HQ.

"Glad to see you made it back." Lilith said. "What did you find?"

"Nothing in the Vault." Alex said. "No sign of those two travelers, treasure or anything."

"We may have found something in the Ruins of Helios." CJ said.

"What did you find?" Lilith asked.

"An old file in the Helios database." CJ said. "One that's largely been ignored since the death of Professor Nakayama."

"You mean that weirdo who tried to clone Handsome Jack?" A new female voice asked. Everyone turned and saw a woman with blue eyes and short blue hair no longer than her chin. She wore a yellow and black top which covered everything except her left arm, blue pants, and black-and-yellow boots. Much like Lilith, her left arm, and the bit of her chest that was visible through her shirt, was covered in blue tattoo-like markings.

 **-Maya : Hope you're not a monk-**

"Yeah." CJ said. "That weirdo."

"So what was this file about?" Lilith asked.

"It detailed the recovery of Handsome Jack's body after his death in the Vault of the Warrior." CJ said. "Hyperion recovered the body and took it to some sort of lab out in the Nexus."

"I doubt there are any Hyperion employees still loyal to Jack." Lilith said. "But just to be sure… I want you to come with me to the Nexus and help wipe out the lab. We can't take the chance of Hyperion finding a way to bring back Jack."

"Count me in as well. / I want to wreak some havoc. / I hope for bloodshed." Said a new voice. Everyone looked to the door and saw a slender figure in a black bodysuit and helmet. The chest of the bodysuit was gray and not even the faintest idea of a face could be seen through the helmet. Marked in red on the left side of the figure's chest was the number zero.

 **-Zer0 : Most definitely cooler than you-**

"Damn. He really does speak in Haiku." CJ said. "When I write about this adventure, it's going to be a challenging coming up with Haikus every time Zer0 says something."

"It comes natural. / I do not notice my count. / My words flow freely." Zer0 said.

"Yeah. Definitely gonna be tricky writing that." CJ said.

"What do you mean writing?" Lilith asked.

"I like to write stories about the adventures my friends and I end up on." CJ said.

"End up on?" Mordecai asked.

"Yeah." CJ said. "These aren't the kinds of things we actively seek out. Super human abilities, fighting monsters, checking out Vaults… This is all shit we've been just kind of accidentally thrown into."

"Well, then I guess it's time for you guys to accidentally get thrown into helping a Siren destroying a lab." Lilith said.

"Accidentally getting thrown into destroying stuff?" CJ asked. "I can get live with this."

"I want to blow things up too!" A new voice called out, a Spanish accent present. Now standing in the doorway was a short chubby man with spiked blue hair and beard, wearing a torn orange t-shirt and jeans, with ammo belts hung on his shoulders.

 **-Salvador : Bienvenidos a la fiesta, amigos!-**

"Sounds like a party." CJ said.

"Salvador, it's best if you and the others stay here and protect Sanctuary." Lilith said.

"If Jack's body is in a lab in the Nexus, there's a chance that there are still Hyperion employees out there, Lil." Mordecai said. "Helios wasn't their headquarters, and I doubt Hyperion's completely packed up and gone home, even with Jack's death and the crashing of Helios. Especially if they have his body. They could be planning some kind of weird robo-Jack. You may want some backup out there."

"Good point." Lilith said. "You come with us and provide sniper support."

"Be glad to." Mordecai said.

"But I want everyone else to stay here and watch Sanctuary." Lilith said.

"Lilith, don't you think it's a little overboard to have everyone stay and watch Sanctuary?" Maya asked.

"No." Lilith said. "Just you, Brick and Salvador. Krieg and Axton are out in the Rust Commons checking out that Atlas facility Athena told us about in Old Haven. And Zer0 and Gaige are going to the Frozen Wastes to find that Atlas bio-dome. Mordecai and I will accompany the off-worlders to the Nexus and investigate this Hyperion lab."

"We have names." CJ said.

"Let's just go. We have a mission to take care of." Lilith said.

Meanwhile, out in the Arid Nexus, Jesper was wandering the sands, with a Jakobs revolver at his waist and a data drive on a chain around his neck. It didn't take long before he reached a tall steel building. Yellow lines were painted across the top and bottom of the building and the doors were marked with the Hyperion logo. He walked up to the door closest to him and plugged the data drive into the console controlling the door. The holo image of Jack appeared on the small screen on the console.

"Child's play." Jack said. "I'll have this door open in no time." Within moments, the door slid open. "Good. Head inside and up to the third floor. Central command should be there."

"Got it." Jesper said, unplugging the data drive. He walked inside, found the nearest elevator and rode it to the third floor. As he exited the elevator, he saw a large room ahead of him with several computers and monitors. He walked into the room, over to the biggest computer in the center of the room, and connected the data drive.

"Perfect." Jack's voice echoed over the computer systems. "I'm everywhere in the system."

"So… where's my reward?"

"Uh uh." Jack said. "We're not done yet, cupcake. First we need to find my body. And one of my immortality suits."

"Immortality suits?" Jesper asked.

"I'm amazed a Hyperion tech fanboy like yourself doesn't already know." Jack said. "It's basically a robot endoskeleton. One of my last projects. First few prototypes killed the subject. Which was great, just not what we were going for. Of course, given the fact that I'm already dead, and the project made it out of the prototype phase, it's not exactly a side effect I'm concerned about."

"Okay… Weird. So where are these… immortality suits?" Jesper asked.

"Sub-level C." Jack said. "Let's move. I'll unlock the service elevator. It's the only way to the basements." Jesper exited central command and returned to the elevator. "Not that one."

"So, where is it?" Jesper asked.

"Look to your left, dum dum." Jack said. Jesper looked and saw a second elevator. "Take that to Sub-level C. Once there, follow the hallway. It'll lead you right to the room where the immortality suits were developed. From there, we just grab one and track down my body." Jesper stepped into the elevator and rode it down to the basement. He stepped out into a long hallway leading to a single door. He followed the hallway through the door and found himself in a chamber filled with several skeletal machine like devices.

"Are these… the immortality suits?" Jesper asked.

"Bingo, kiddo." Jack said. "Now… It looks like my body is down one more floor. Get me down there, and bring one of those suits. There's a machine that should be able to insert the skeleton into my body, and we should also be able to upload my AI's consciousness into my body as well."

"And then I'll get my reward?" Jesper asked.

"And then you'll get your reward." Jack said. "Now come on, princess! Let's get my frickin' body back." Jesper grabbed one of the immortality suits, struggling to lift it and slowly dragged it and himself back to the elevator. As the doors opened on the next floor down, Jesper gasped at the sight of a bunch of suspended animation chambers, filled with bodies. Most of them were just random Hyperion employees, but two of them caught Jesper's attention. The first one of course, was Handsome Jack, his brown hair still slicked in its same wavy pattern. His mask was missing and a gruesome scar of the infamous Vault symbol was burned into his face. In the chamber next to Jack was a black-haired, pale-skinned young girl, probably in her late teens, maybe somewhere between 17 and 19. She wore a gray t-shirt with sleeves that just passed her shoulders, and gray pants. The center of the shirt and the inner parts of the pants were black, and they had a yellow stripe down the middle. Running down the left side of her body, starting from her chest, were blue tattoo-like markings, and her hair was tied in a ponytail on the left side of her head. The right side of her head was shaved and she had metal pieces attached to it.

"All right, kiddo." Jack said. "Pop it open and let's get me my body back. Just hit the red button at the base of the chamber."

"And then I get my reward?" Jesper asked.

"Holy Skagsuck, you are really hung up on that reward thing." Jack said. "Yes, then you get your reward. Geez."

"Awesome." Jesper said. He walked over to the chamber and pressed the red button at the base. The chamber drained and opened to reveal Jack's body.

"Good." Jack said. "Now, look to the right of the cryo chambers. You should see an odd looking machine." Jesper turned and saw a large machine with a conveyor belt and another cryo-like chamber. "Just put my body in that chamber and the immortality suit on the conveyor belt. The machine will do the rest." Jesper followed Jack's instructions and watched in amazement as the machine broke down the suit and digistructed it within Jack's body.

"So, where's my reward?" Jesper asked.

"Whoa, slow down there, pumpkin." Jack said. "You still need to upload my consciousness into my body."

"How do I do that?" Jesper asked.

"It's easy." Jack said. "I'm already in the system. You just need to use that console on the machine to enable network access." Jesper walked over to the machine, scanned the screen, and tapped a few buttons.

"Like that?" Jesper asked.

"Perfect…" Jack said.

"Upload at 15%..." A female computer voice said. "30%..."

"You know…" Jack's voice echoed, becoming distorted. "I owe you."

"Why's that?" Jesper asked.

"Upload at 50%."

"Because, kiddo…" Jack said, the sound crackling like speaker with the volume turned up too high. "You've opened the door for a new life for me… for Pandora… for Hyperion…"

"Upload at 75%."

"I'm… glad I could help?" Jesper said cautiously.

"You've…me…reborn…resume…revenge…Angel…"

"Upload at 95%."

"Wait! I've changed my mind!" Jesper said. He quickly tapped a command on the screen.

"Upload complete."

"It's too late, kid." Jack said, his voice now coming from one distinct source. Jesper turned and saw the chamber on the machine open. "I'm back. In my sweet reborn body. You know, I had every intention of rewarding you for helping me get back my body. Money, power, technology, girls. You name it. You would've had it. However…" Jack stepped out of the chamber and held his hand down near the ECHO device strapped to his right thigh. A yellow and silver pistol then digistructed in his hand. It had a red stripe from barrel to handle and four wing-like pieces sticking out diagonally from the upper part of the handle. "You, like everyone else, betrayed me."

 **-Handsome Jack : Watch your language-**

"No, no, no! Please don't!" Jesper begged.

"Too late." Jack said. He pointed the gun at Jesper, pulled the trigger and watched as Jesper's lifeless body dropped like a rock, a hole in his head. Jack then stepped back into the elevator and ascended through the facility. The doors opened on central command and Jack walked in, quickly making his way to the main computer. "Come on, come on… Where is it? Damnit! Where is she?!"

"Jack? You're supposed to be dead." A voice familiar to Jack said with a British accent. Jack turned and saw a man in a suit standing there. He had grayish blonde hair that was slicked back on top of his head and somewhat spiked out on the sides, giving the illusion of horns.

"Blake!" Jack said. "Good to see you. Long story short, and I brought myself back with Nakayama's AI program, my body in the cryo chamber downstairs, an immortality suit and a gullible tech nerd. Now, I need your help."

"What can I do for you, sir?" Mr Blake asked.

"The bunker in Thousand Cuts. Is it still standing?" Jack asked.

"Yes sir." Mr Blake said. "Why?"

"I need to get there." Jack said. "I need to access the computers in the Control Core."

"Sir, I'm not sure how functional the computers in the Control Core are." Mr Blake said.

"I don't care!" Jack said. "I have to try."

"Yes sir." Mr Blake said. "There's a Fast Travel Station at the lab's entrance. You can use that to get to the Control Core."

"Thank you, Jeffrey." Jack said.

"Actually sir, it's… Wait… Did you say 'Jeffrey'?" Mr Blake asked.

"That is your name, isn't it?" Jack said.

"Uh, well yes, but you've never gotten it right before sir." Mr Blake said.

"People change." Jack said, walking out and stepping into the elevator. Before long, it stopped on the ground level of the lab. Jack walked outside into the Arid, activated the Fast Travel Station, and vanished in a flash of light. Moments later, Mr Blake did the same.

A short time later, Lilith and the Sages Fast Traveled into Fyrestone.

"Back in Fyrestone." CJ said.

"If only we could figure out a way home from here." Dayan said.

"No kidding." CJ said, as Lilith wandered away from the group. "But right now, working for Lilith's our only hope."

"How come we haven't seen any New-U Stations?" Shaylene wondered.

"New-U Stations?" Dayan asked.

"They look near identical to Fast Travel Stations." CJ said. "In game, they're respawn points. We probably haven't seen them because they're just a game mechanic."

"Damn." Shaylene said. "I was really hoping to get to hear some witty New-U quotes in person."

"That would require dying." CJ said.

"Do not worry about the afterlife, Hyperion customer. Hell is reserved for pedophiles and people who buy Jakobs munitions." Shaylene said, imitating a New-U Station. "That's my favorite."

"That _would_ be your favorite." CJ said.

"So according to Hyperion, you're going to hell on all counts, huh?" Stacey asked.

"Shut up." CJ said.

"Guys! You might want to get up here!" Lilith said. The gang looked and saw Lilith standing at the gate of Fyrestone, waving them over. "We've got a problem!" The Sages rushed toward Lilith. When they reached the gate, they saw a few packs of Skags wandering toward them.

"Fluffy!" Stacey shouted.

"You would." CJ said. Lilith reached into her pocket and pulled out a hunk of raw Eridium. She held it out in Stacey's direction.

"Here." Lilith said. "Let's see what you can do." Stacey grabbed the Eridium, squeezing it in her hands, and her Siren tattoos began to glow. A vision flashed in her mind.

* * *

 _Stacey stood in front of Lilith as a flock of Rakk divebombed in her direction. She focused for a moment before unleashing her Phasewave ability. A wave of energy rippled out from her, striking several of the Rakk. As the Rakk were hit, a few of them exploded in an icy cloud, freezing other Rakk near them._

* * *

"I think I just got a new power…" Stacey said.

"Let's see what you can do." Lilith said, as the Skags approached. Stacey unleashed her Phasewave, and the energy wave tore through the herd of Skags. Every single one it hit exploded in an icy flash, coating much of the area in a light snow that quickly melted in the desert heat.

"Not bad, kid." Lilith said. "Not bad at all."

"I wonder if there are artifacts the rest of us can use to increase our skills." CJ said. The sound of sniper fire then broke everyone's train of though. They looked ahead to see a soldier in yellow armor drop to the ground, coated in Slag.

"Boom. Headshot." Mordecai's voice rang out from their ECHOs.

"Good shot, Mordy." CJ said.

"That was a Hyperion soldier." Lilith said.

"I told you they'd be out here." Mordecai responded.

"Yeah. You did." Lilith said. "Any sign of the lab? Can you see it from up there?" Mordecai was perched atop the Hyperion Info Stockade, where he had a decent view of the entire Arid Nexus.

"I see something." Mordecai said. "South of the old Hyperion Truth Network, beyond that pumping station. Might be the lab."

"Off to the Boneyard." CJ said. Within about an hour or so, Lilith and the Sages had reached the elevator and Catch-A-Ride Station at the base of the elevated highway leading to Eridium Blight.

"Lilith, watch it. There's a lot of Hyperion foot soldiers out there." Mordecai said through the ECHO. "Looks like trouble. They're definitely patrolling. Maybe even looking for something."

"Got it." Lilith said. "Keep us covered. We're going in."

"Will do." Mordecai said. A loud roar was heard.

"That's not our only problem." Alex said. The gang turned and saw a pack of Skags emerging from a small cave dug into a nearby rock formation. A loud screech was heard from above. CJ looked up and saw a flock of Skrakk.

"Oh, fuck me." He said.

"Love to, but this isn't the best time." Shaylene joked. Stacey shot her a death glare.

"Not the time to be funny." CJ said, vanishing.

"Guess it's fight time." Alex said. "Ares! Ajax! Let's rock and roll!" Alex's golems were quickly digistructed in front of the gang.

"You and your damn puns." Dayan said.

"I wasn't even trying on that one." Alex said. Suddenly, a gunshot rang out and two Skrakks crashed to the ground, one pierced by a bullet and one beat to the ground by one of Alex's golems.

"Can we discuss Alex's awesome puns later?" CJ asked, reappearing. "Now's not really the time, in case you didn't notice!" As one of the Skrakks fell, it dropped a strange stone. It was white in color, had odd purple markings on it and gave off a dark blue glow. CJ picked it up and a vision flashed in his mind.

* * *

 _CJ rushed toward an unknown enemy, drawing a long dagger that was tied to his waist. As he dashed forward, he sliced the enemy, and watched they were engulfed in electricity before dropping to the ground._

* * *

"Guess it's my turn to get a new power." CJ said. "But I saw a vision of a knife or sword, and I don't have one of those. Not here on Pandora anyway." It was then that a long hunting knife was digistructed at his waist. "Ok. Now I do."

"That thing you found looked like an Eridian Artifact." Lilith said, as her tattoos began to glow. She vanished and her voiced echoed around the group. "They helped us enhance our skills when we first arrived on Pandora." She then reappeared in the middle of the Skag heard, causing a fiery explosion which killed several of them, as one of Alex's golems crushed another.

"Bandit detected." A robotic voice was heard.

"Great. Now we've got Loaders." Shaylene said, turning toward the south. She and Dayan tossed their turrets down, which began making semi-swift work of the Loaders.

"Let me see if I can get one of those Skrakks on our side." Aubrey said. She fired her gun at the Skrakks, catching their attention, and the flock turned and started diving toward her. "Shit… I only wanted one!" One was suddenly covered in Slag before dropping to the ground and another was electrocuted before dying.

"Gotcha, pendejo!" Mordecai said over the ECHO.

"Good shot, Mordy." CJ said.

"You're not too bad with that knife, kid." Mordecai said. As the remaining four Skrakks dove toward Aubrey, she managed to strike one with her whip, while dodging the other three. Within seconds, the Skrakk she struck had turned on the others and was chasing them around the sky over the Boneyard.

"I see what you mean about her taming skills." Lilith said.

"Aubrey and her Skrakk can handle the others." CJ said, vanishing again. A Skag was shocked shortly after and another Skag's jaw was pierced by a bullet before CJ reappeared. "But we've still got problems on the ground."

"Increasing Aggression." A Loader said.

"First Law Disabled." Said another. A third robot dropped down. This one was much larger than the Loaders. It was much round, roughly the size of a dumpster, stood on four small legs and had a turret mounted atop it. On the front of the robot was a single red eye, which doubled as a laser turret.

"Badass Constructor!" Lilith said.

"Are you kidding me?!" Shaylene exclaimed. A beam of light stretched out from the Constructor's eye, which began digistructing more Loaders.

"Stacey! Take care of these Skags!" CJ said, as one of Alex's golems dropped down on top of a Skag, causing a small quake that killed two others. A wave of energy then struck the remaining Skags, causing them to explode in an icy burst. "Uh… good work…" He then turned his attention to the Constructor. Flying above it now were two small, four winged drones that were connected to it via beams of light.

"Are those Repair Surveyors?" Alex asked.

"No, I think they're Shield Surveyors." CJ said. "Stacey, help me take out the Surveyors. Alex and Dayan, focus on any Loaders it digistructs. Lilith, help Shaylene take care of the Constructor itself. Aubrey, how's it going with those Skrakk?" Two Skrakk dropped to the ground near CJ.

"Those were the last ones." Aubrey said. She turned her attention, and her Skrakk, to the Constructor and its bots.

"This looks cool." Shaylene said, picking up a part that had blown off a Loader. It was giving off a green glow. Suddenly, it vanished and digistructed itself onto her laser turret, which began firing a green laser. "Sweet! I've got a Corrosive Laser Turret."

"Stacey, can you boost me up?" CJ asked.

"I think so." Stacey said. She cupped her hands, interlocking her fingers. CJ lifted one foot, using her hands as a step and pushed himself off the ground with the other. Stacey pushed up with her hands, propelling CJ into the air.

"Thanks!" CJ said, as he vanished. Moments later, both Surveyor bots were sliced in half and exploded, before CJ reappeared and dropped to the ground behind the Constructor. "Shields down! Focus fire on the Constructor!" Shaylene's turret continued to blast the Constructor, as Lilith vanished. Stacey unleashed her Phasewave as the Constructor began constructing more Loaders.

"Launching nuke..." The Constructor said.

"Everyone get back!" CJ said. "The Constructor's releasing its nuclear missile! Get to a safe distance!" Everyone spread out, getting as far from the Constructor as they could as a missile was launched out of the top of the bot. Before long, the missile impacted with the ground, creating a small mushroom cloud. Suddenly, an explosion rocked the Constructor and Lilith appeared next to it, with wings of fire at her back. As she reappeared, the Constructor exploded, scattering machine parts across the area.

"Whoa..." Aubrey said. "That was cool."

"Good job, Firehawk." CJ said. "Mordecai, we're moving on the lab. Cover us."

"You got it." Mordecai said. Lilith and the Sages moved toward the lab. Occasionally, a sniper shot would ring out, dropping one of the soldiers near the lab. By the time the group reached the lab, only a few Hyperion guards remained.

"Dayan, you mind?" CJ asked.

"Not at all." Dayan said. He tossed down his turret, which fired off a few bursts, freezing the soldiers.

"My turn." CJ said, vanishing. Everyone watched as one by one, the frozen soldiers were sliced in half.

"Good work, guys." Lilith said. "Let's head in." The group entered the lab and began examining their surroundings.

"So, where do we go?" CJ asked.

"I found the labs blueprints in the Info Stockade's files." Mordecai said over the ECHO. "Head down to Sub-Level D. The chambers where they keep bodies are there."

"Got it." CJ said. He and the Sages rushed over to the elevator and stepped in. Within a few minutes, the doors opened to reveal the same chamber that Jack had been revived in. Lilith quickly noticed Jesper's body on the floor.

"Mordy, we've got a dead guy down here." Lilith said.

"That's not a good sign." Mordecai said. Lilith scanned the rest of the room. Her eyes widened when she saw the empty chamber where Jack's body had been previously.

"No. _That's_ not a good sign." Lilith said. She scanned the chambers with her ECHO device, sending the images to Mordecai.

"Is that Angel?" Mordecai asked.

"Yeah." Lilith said. "And an empty chamber next to her."

"Shit." Mordecai said. "We need to get back to Sanctuary. Now."

"On my way." Lilith said.

"We're coming with you." Alex said.

"You guys go ahead." CJ said. "I'm staying here. I want to check out the facility."

"Alone? Are you sure?" Alex asked.

"Stacey and I will stay with him." Shaylene said.

"You guys go protect Sanctuary." Stacey said.

"You got it." Alex said. With that, Lilith, Aubrey and the guys stepped into the elevator, bound for Sanctuary.

"You're not staying behind to check out the facility." Shaylene said. "What are you really planning?"

"Do you remember the immortality suit from Tales from the Borderlands?" CJ asked. "The one that Handsome Jack was going to use to bring himself back using Rhys's body?"

"Yeah." Shaylene said. "What about it?"

"I want to see if I can find one." CJ said. "If I can find that and any trace of her consciousness in the Hyperion network, I want to try to bring Angel back to life. She deserves a better life than what Jack gave her."

"I had a feeling that's what was going on." Shaylene said. "Can't resist helping a pretty girl can you?"

"Prettier than me?" Stacey asked.

"Don't start." CJ said.

"I'm kidding." Stacey said. "Mostly. I want to help."

"Me too." Shaylene said.

"Awesome." CJ said. "Let's see if we can find the central command for this place. Maybe we can access Hyperion's databases from there."

"There's some computers over there." Shaylene said. "I wonder if you can access the database from there."

"Good idea." CJ said. "Each of you take a computer. If we're all looking, we have a better chance of getting results fast."

"Got it." Shaylene said.

"No problem." Stacey said. The three headed over to the computers and began scanning through the files.

Meanwhile, Lilith and the others Fast Traveled back to Sanctuary, where they were greeted outside Pierce Station by Athena, Janey, Vaughn, Sasha, and an older, balding, bespectacled gentleman with a salt-and-pepper beard in an outfit similar to the Crimson Raiders. He had dark skin and cloudy blue eyes. On his chest was a strange square machine like device.

"I've gathered the rest of my team from the Vault of the Traveler mission." Athena said. "Vaughn, former Hyperion accountant, now leader of the Children of Helios… Sasha…"

"Former con artist, current bartender at the Purple Skag in Hollow Point, and Maliwan weapon enthusiast." Sasha said. "With some conning on the side."

"And… Dr Cassius Leclemaine." Athena said. "Atlas scientist."

 **-Cassius : No longer on Athena's kill list-**

"Figured maybe you wouldn't mind some more hands around Sanctuary." Athena said.

"Thank you, Athena." Lilith said. "Perfect timing. We may need their assistance." By this, Lilith had led everyone inside the Crimson Raiders HQ, where Maya, Salvador, Brick, Zer0 and Gaige were waiting. "Zer0, Gaige, anything to report?"

"Nothing unusual." Gaige said. "Though we found this." She held up a coffee maker.

"An Atlas Xtreme Latte 5000?" Athena asked. "It's not from the Biodome out in the Wastes, is it?"

"I'm afraid it is. / Why? Were you looking for a / coffee? It's broken." Zer0 said.

"Yeah. I know." Athena said. "Damn. Cassius, any chance you can fix it?"

"I may be able to." Cassius said.

"Good." Athena said.

"What's so special about this coffee maker, anyway? Seems like a hunk o' junk to me." Gaige said.

"Atlas may have been full of corrupt, greedy bastards, but they made the best lattes." Athena said.

"Can we focus?" Lilith asked.

"When we accompanied CJ and his friends to the lab in the Nexus, we found that one of the containment chambers was empty." Mordecai said.

"Lab? What lab?" Athena asked.

"While exploring the Ruins of Helios, the off-worlders found a file in the Helios database the detailed the recovery of Handsome Jack's body and its transport to a lab in the Arid Nexus." Lilith said.

"And you're telling me that Jack's body is missing from the lab?" Athena asked.

"I'm afraid so." Lilith said.

"What did Rhys do with his Hyperion cybernetics?" Athena asked.

"No idea." Vaughn said. "He abandoned the head port and cyber arm in the ruins of Jack's office, but I think he held on to the ECHO eye itself."

"If someone else got their hands on it, they could have uploaded Jack's mind back into Hyperion's systems. And if there were any more of those immortality suits made, then they could revive him." Athena said.

"Chances are he's already been revived." Lilith said.

"That's why we're here." Mordecai said.

"What about the other three?" Athena asked. "The assassin, the Siren and the young girl?"

"They stayed back to check out the lab some more." Mordecai said.

"We need to try to figure out where Jack would be heading first." Athena said.

"I'll contact my Slabs out in Thousand Cuts." Brick said. "If Jack's going anywhere, it's a Hyperion facility, and I'd bet he'll be bound for the Control Core. I'll tell those idiots to keep an eye out for him."

"Good idea." Lilith said.

"I'll contact the Children of Helios out in Opportunity and tell them to watch out for him as well." Vaughn said.

"Good. In the meantime, we need to prepare Sanctuary." Lilith said. "Jack could strike here at any time."


	6. An Angel, A Sage and Handsome Jack

**CHAPTER SIX: An Angel, A Sage and Handsome Jack**

CJ and the girls furious typed away at the computers.

"Any luck?" CJ asked.

"Nothing." Shaylene said.

"I can't find squat." Stacey said. "You?"

"No… nothing." CJ said, his tone becoming more defeated.

"Don't give up!" Shaylene said. "We'll find her! I'm not letting you quit!"

"What's the point?" CJ asked, staring at the chamber housing Angel's body. "Even if we do find her consciousness, what's to say she'll even survive? It was her forced connection to Eridium that killed her. Without Eridium being constantly injected into her, how can we be sure she won't die again?" He walked over and place a hand on the chamber. Shaylene walked over to him and stood there, staring at him. "What are you staring at?"

"I'm not staring." Shaylene said. "I'm trying to figure out who's in there, because it sure as Hell isn't my best friend."

"I… I just don't see any possible way to bring her back. Not to a safe, healthy life." CJ said.

"Since when have you been a quitter?" Shaylene asked.

"Since always." CJ said. "I give up on things constantly."

"Before Stacey, when you found a girl you really liked, how often did you quit trying to ask her out?" Shaylene asked.

"A lot." CJ said.

"Bull." Shaylene replied. "What about the girl you went to prom with? You told me that you asked her out constantly throughout senior year, and even again at prom."

"Yeah but…"

"But nothing. You're no quitter!" Shaylene said. "We're finding a way to bring Angel back!"

"I don't know…"

"Tell me something…" Shaylene said. "When you played Borderlands 2, what was the biggest thing that drove you through the end game? You always get captivated by the plots of the games you play… Immersed in their worlds. What motivated you in the end? What was the one thing that pushed you to put a bullet in Jack's head?"

"Angel..." CJ said.

"Then don't give up on her." Shaylene said. "She's real. She's sitting in front of you. You have the chance to bring her to life and help give her a better life than being a Vault Key charging catalyst. Take it."

"Maybe you're right." CJ said, staring back up at Angel's chamber. He reached out to touch it when the three heard a new voice come from the elevator behind them.

"Get the Hell away from my daughter, you filthy bandit!" The three turned and saw Handsome Jack standing there.

"Wait wait wait!" CJ said. "I want to help you. I want to bring Angel back. I know what happened to you. I know what you've dealt with in the past."

Jack paused. "Go on…"

"I know about Rhys. About the fall of Helios. I know that you've been betrayed. I want to work with you. I want to help you." CJ said.

"I've been betrayed be everyone who mattered." Jack said. "How do I know you can be trusted?"

"Because… I know what it's like to be betrayed. I know how that feels." CJ said. "And I would never subject someone to that. I want to help you, Jack. I want to help restore you to your Hyperion throne. I want to help make Hyperion the company it once was."

"I'm done with Hyperion." Jack said. "Done with being CEO. Done with Pandora. I just want my daughter back, and I want to escape this nacho-flavored shithole of a planet."

"I could help with that." CJ said. "There… are other Vaults around the universe. Maybe even Pandora. I could help you track down one of those Vaults. You and Angel could use the riches within to escape Pandora."

"I'm done with Vaults." Jack said. "I don't want to go near one of those again. Vaults are what got me killed. Twice."

"But think about Angel…" CJ said. "Don't you want a better life for Angel?"

"Maybe you have a point…" Jack said. "The riches of a Vault _could_ help us get off this death ball."

"The only question is… can Angel be brought back?" CJ asked. "I know about the immortality suits. We searched Hyperion's database for any trace of her. I know about your AI program. I assumed there would be one of her as well, but…"

"There was." Jack said. "Sort of. I found data of her consciousness within the Control Core atop Thousand Cuts. From… when I was… using her to charge the Vault Key…"

"Jack. This is your chance to make up for that." CJ said.

"You're right." Jack said.

"What about the Eridium?" CJ asked.

"I don't want to force her back into that life." Jack said.

"No. I mean, won't her body still need it to survive?" CJ asked.

"It's been long enough." Jack said. "Even though her body's been in a sort of suspended state, it shouldn't be dependent on Eridium anymore." He walked over to the chamber, opened it and carried Angel's body to the same machine that had gifted his body with the endoskeleton. He placed both Angel and the endoskeleton into the machine, and before long, the two were one.

"But how are you going to revive her?" CJ asked. "Her consciousness, I mean."

"The ports on her head." Jack said. "The same ones that connected her to the Control Core…" Jack connected a pair of cords in the machine to the ports in Angel's head. "I've spent a while stuck in cyber purgatory, regretting what I did to Angel... What I put her through... But in a way, I'm glad I did it. It means I'll get my daughter back... Even though I'm the reason I even lost her in the first place." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small data drive, which he quickly connected to the machine. He tapped a few commands on the screen, and within moments, the process had begun,

"Upload commencing..." The computer said.

"You know, kid." Jack said. "I think this could be the start of a beautiful partnership. You, me, Angel. Hunting for a Vault. Getting rich. And getting me off this Bandit infested hellhole."

"Upload at 15%..."

"You mean you _and_ Angel?" CJ asked.

"Of course, of course!" Jack said. "And you. If you want it."

"As a matter of fact, working on a plan to get off Pandora was what led me to this lab in the first place." CJ said. "I'm doing some mercenary work in exchange for favors from people that could get me home."

"Upload at 35%..."

"Could?" Jack asked. "You don't sound sure of getting off Pandora."

CJ paused for a moment. _He seems like he's changed, but telling him about Lilith and the others could be risky..._ "It's not that I'm unsure about getting off Pandora." He said. "It's more that I'm unsure about whether or not I can trust the people I'm working with."

"Upload at 50%..."

"On this planet? If they're not Hyperion, of course they can't be trusted." Jack said. "But if it's not those Bandits in Sanctuary, you should be fine."

 _Of course. Maybe play it off as a victim and I can earn his trust._ "That's the thing... It's Marcus and the Crimson Raiders." CJ said. "My friends and I were captured by them out in the Highlands less than a day after we... landed on Pandora."

"In that Hyperion shirt, it's no surprise." Jack said. "Those primitive savages are scared of the peace and change that we bring."

"Upload at 75%..."

"Yeah. I found this shirt at the Info Stockade." CJ said. "I've been a fan of Hyperion for some time. When we dropped onto Pandora, I figured this shirt would let me snoop through Hyperion territory unopposed. Granted, I was wrong. We got attacked as soon as we got close to this lab."

"That explains all those bodies." Jack said. "I'm impressed... Wait... You're not an obsessed weirdo like that Rhys kid, are you?"

"Oh, he's totally obs-" Shaylene started to say before CJ quickly covered her mouth.

"Obsessed might be a strong word." CJ said. "I pity you, in a sense. You were robbed of a lot of potential. Betrayed by the wrong people. It sent you down an unfortunate spiral. One that didn't end well for you."

"Upload complete..." The machine opened and Angel's body sat there, motionless.

"What the Hell?!" Jack shouted. "Why didn't it work?!"

 _No... We failed..._ CJ thought. Suddenly, Angel's sky blue eyes slowly opened. She scanned her surroundings, still connected to the machine.

 **-Angel : You're an asshole-**

"D-Dad?" Angel questioned. "No... that means the Vault Hunters failed... You awoke the Warrior..." Data from the Hyperion systems flooded her mind.

* * *

 _A dark-skinned muscular man stood in a large room filled with computer screens and strange devices. In the center was an unusual chamber. The man wore a gray shirt, black pants and a gray beret. He was Roland, leader of the Crimson Raiders. With him were Lilith, Maya, Gaige, Zer0, Salvador and two more people. The first was a man with spiked blonde hair wearing an orange shirt and green khakis. Much like Roland he seemed like a military man. He was Axton the Commando. The other man was big and muscular, and wore only orange pants and a mask. One arm was bandaged, the other had a piece of metal strapped to it, and tied to his back was a buzz axe. He was Krieg the Pyscho. Lifeless on the ground near them was Angel, and next to her body was a strange cone like rock that had glowing purple markings on it._

" _She's dead." Roland said. "Jack just lost his only way to awaken the Warrior. We've got the Vault Key, but this isn't over yet. We've gotta find Jack and take him out. Lilith, take the Vault Key to Tannis. I'm going after Jack." Unseen to everyone, Jack suddenly appeared in the room behind Roland. A gunshot rang out and a bullet pierced Roland's heart. Blood spurted out as Roland dropped to the ground._

 _"Roland!" Lilith screamed._

" _Sup." Jack said._

 _Lilith began to glow red and wings of flame sprouted from her back. She charged forward. "You bastard. I'm gonna-" Suddenly, Jack snapped a collar like device around her neck. Her wings vanished, she began to glow blue and she fell backwards._

 _"Language." Jack said. "What's that saying? Don't pick a fight with a man with nothing left to lose? See, I'm going to show you just how much YOU have to lose – and I got the most powerful Siren on the planet to do it with. Lilith, kill the Vault Hunters. We've got a date to keep with the Warrior." Lilith held up her hand and it began to glow. She screamed and struggled under Jack's grasp. "Do it, Lilith."_

 _"NO!" A purple light enveloped the Vault Hunters, minus Lilith, and they soon found themselves in a stock room filled with ammo boxes and crates of guns._

" _What happened? What the Hell just happened?! First Bloodwing, now THIS?!" Mordecai said over the ECHO. "Vault Hunters, find me in Sanctuary – we gotta get Lilith back."_

* * *

"Roland... I'm sorry..." Angel mumbled. Another vision filled her mind.

* * *

 _The Vault Hunters - Maya, Axton, Salvador, Zer0, Krieg and Gaige – were inside a volcanic cavern, fighting a colossal beast with a body seemingly made of stone and magma. It had four legs, two arms, a pair of wings, and a long tail. On the cavern floor near them, protected by an energy barrier, were Lilith and a severely wounded Handsome Jack. Zer0 fired a shot from his sniper and the colossal beast, known as the Warrior, an ancient living super-weapon, dropped to the ground, gasping for life._

" _NO!" Jack shouted. "This can't be happening... THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING!"_

" _Holy badass – I think you killed it." Lilith said. "Never hurts to be sure, though: hit the button on the moonshot console. Maya ran over to a nearby computer and pressed the big button on the console. Something came flying out of the sky with meteoric force, obliterating the Warrior. A purple glow illuminated the area and the barrier around Lilith and Jack vanished._

" _No no no... I can't die like this... not when I'm so close..." Jack said. "...and not at the hands of a filthy bandit! I could've saved this planet! I could've actually restored order! I wasn't supposed to die by the hands of a child-killing psychopath! You're a savage! You're a maniac! You are a bandit... AND I AM THE GODDAMN HERO! The Warrior was practically a god. How – HOW in the Hell have you killed my Warrior? You idiots! The Warrior could have brought peace to this planet! No more dangerous creatures! No more bandits! Pandora – It could have been PARADISE!"_

" _This is the end, Vault Hunters." Lilith said. "Either you kill Jack, or I'll kill him for you. What's it gonna be?" Everyone looked at each and just nodded, turning to Lilith. Lilith grabbed Jack's shoulder and began to glow with a purple light. Jack crumpled to a ground, as if he was a rag doll before Lilith tossed his lifeless corpse several feet. "That was for Roland, asshole." She then turned to face the others. "It's over... it's finally over. Good going, Vault Hunters. You... are badasses. Now, we just gotta get rid of that key."_

 _The other Vault Hunters walked over to where Jack had just been standing. In the ground was the same cone shaped rock that had been sitting near Angel when she died. It was the Vault Key, and it was what allowed Jack to awaken the Warrior in the first place. Zer0 reached down to touch it._

" _Wait a sec – let me." Lilith said. "You don't want to touch this thing right now, trust me."_

" _Slow down, man – I nearly bought it back there. Hey – Lilith!" Everyone looked and saw Mordecai limping toward them. Helping support him was Brick._

" _Where the Hell were you guys five minutes ago?!" Lilith asked. "If it weren't for the Vault Hunters, we'd all be dead."_

" _I think that's her way of saying we won." Brick said._

" _I figured that." Mordecai said._

" _If I never see this key again, it'll be too soon." Lilith said, kneeling down near the Vault Key. "It's been fun, you alien piece of sh-" As Lilith began to charge her power to destroy the key, it began to glow, projecting a map. The map displayed a galaxy, and within that galaxy were several planets, all marked with the Vault symbol – an upside down "V" inside a circle._

" _What the – are those Vaults?" Brick asked._

 _Mordecai chuckled. "You know what that means..."_

" _Yeah." Lilith said, smirking. "No rest for the wicked."_

* * *

Angel gasped. _More Vaults? But... if Dad's dead... Then how is it standing in front of me? And how am I alive?_

* * *

 _Athena stood in a room with a tan-skinned woman in a cowgirl hat, a strange man with a series of robotic implants, and an odd shaped small yellow robot. In front of them was a bald man with glasses and a mustache and beard, wearing a gray, yellow and black spacesuit._

" _Guess who has the best idea in history?" The bald man, Hyperion scientist Professor Nakayama, said. "It's me! I'm going to take Jack's personality and back it up in a computer! Get to my survey terminal and ask Jack some questions." He then activated his ECHO. "Jack, would you have time for a few questions?"_

 _"Uh... trying to save the world, creepy guy." Jack said._

 _"But I will make you immortal!" Nakayama said._

" _Uhhhh... yeah... alright. That sounds cool." Jack said._

" _All right. Just ask Jack as many questions as you want from that survey terminal, and I'll plug the answers into a Jack artificial intelligence." Nakayama said._

 _"Why are you the best?" The man with robotic implants, Wilhelm, asked._

 _"Ummm... yes?" Jack replied._

" _Do you have any family? A wife? Children?" Asked Nisha, the woman in the cowgirl hat._

" _Next question." Jack said._

" _Describe your childhood." Athena said._

 _"Dad died pretty early. Mom pawned me off on HER mom. Spent most of my time coding or getting smacked around. Had a cat. Grandma drowned it 'cuz I didn't make my bed. Usual stuff." Jack said._

" _How would you like to die?" Asked the small robot, Claptrap._

" _I dunno. Somewhere warm with a sexy chick nearby maybe – Wait a second, aren't I supposed to NOT die? 'Cause this thing's gonna make me, y'know, immortal?" Jack replied._

" _Digitally!" Nakayama said. "Your memories and personality will be saved on a hard drive to be activated upon your death!"_

" _Digital. That's the diet soda of immortalities. Bored now. Interview over." Jack said._

" _All right! Compiling the data now. Just gotta plug Jack's answers into the AI, then give it sentience." Nakayama said. He input the data into a nearby computer and a small blue Loader stood up, projecting a hologram of Jack's head._

" _I am RoboJack. All humans must die."_

" _Oh, cool! Sexy evil computer version of me! That's pretty neat, Nakajama." Jack said._

" _KILL. KILL. KILL." RoboJack said._

 _"RoboJack, RoboJack. Say 'I'm gonna Jack you up.' Just like that." Jack said._

" _NO." RoboJack said._

"' _No'." Jack laughed. "So cool, that's something I would totally say. I would."_

" _So, it looks like it could use another few revisions, but I think the AI Jack thing might not be such a bad idea. Oh man, if I could clone a BODY for Jack, I could put the thing in the thing and it would be... Jack! I am so smart!"_

* * *

 _An AI program? To keep Dad alive? But... what about his body?_ Angel wondered, before more visions flashed in her mind.

* * *

 _A group of Hyperion soldiers rushed into the Vault._

" _There it is!" One of them shouted. They ran to where he was pointing and found Jack's body on the ground._

" _He seems intact." Another soldier said._

 _"Get his body to the suspended animation chambers in the Nexus."_

" _Sir, yes sir!"_

* * *

 _That must be where I am... But... that still doesn't answer how he's alive..._

* * *

 _A brown-haired man stood in a large office somewhere on a space station. His hair was slicked back and he had one brown eye and one blue eye. He wore gray-and-black striped pants, a black vest, blue shirt and had a yellow robotic arm. Behind him was holo-Jack. The man's name was Rhys and he was examining the desk, which belonged to Handsome Jack. Rhys pointed to a robotic yellow arm._

" _What is this?" Rhys asked._

 _"Oh that's a piece from an early immortality suit prototype. But, it killed the subject. Which is great, just not what we were going for." Jack said._

" _Who's this?" Rhys questioned, picking up a picture of a young girl, maybe between 8 and 10, with black hair and blue eyes, making a "V" with her index and middle fingers._

 _"Oh, uh, yeah that's... my Angel. Don't usually like people knowing about her, but... you and me are pretty tight. Once we're done with this Vault stuff, I'd like to check up on her if that's cool." Jack said._

* * *

 _He... wanted to check on me?_ Angel wondered. _Did... did he not know? Did he... actually care?_

* * *

 _Rhys sat in Jack's chair._

 _"Feels good." Rhys said._

 _"That'd be the contact-activated Dopamine injectors." Jack said. "You... look like somebody who could kill a buncha people with a phone call and a little bit of bass in your voice."_

 _"So tell me how to trigger the trap door." Rhys said._

 _"It's behind your pinky." Jack said. "This could be our last chance to chat, you and I. For years, I ruled Hyperion from this room. And now, you're here, where it all started. How's it feel, kiddo? There's something to be said for a cushy chair with a bunch of big, important buttons that can raise hellfire on people."_

" _Feels like a goddamn chair." Rhys said._

 _"Y-yeah. But the buttons next to this chair helped me make some big changes in this world, you know what I'm saying?" Jack said._

 _"So what you're saying is it's a chair with buttons?" Rhys asked._

 _Jack sighed. "You're killing me. But say we shared the power I had when I sat in this room. What would you do with it? If we could wield Hyperion's might together, how would you rule? Hypothetical, of course. But still, you gotta know what you want if you're gonna make it, kid. Like I told you after we escaped Old Haven, remember?"_

 _"I'd fix Pandora." Rhys said. "There's some good people down there, and they deserve better than a world full of psychos."_

" _Yeah that's what I wanted." Jack said. "But Hell, maybe you'll pull it off. Who knows? You've done well so far, kid. But imagine, Rhys, if it wasn't hypothetical. You ever wonder why Nakayama created me? This whole AI thing? I was supposed to find a worthy successor to the Hyperion throne. And that successor, Rhys, is you. If you join me, we could rule together. What do you say, kid? This is the only room with the override port, so if you don't jack in now, you'll never get another shot. I'd say there's no rush, but-"_

 _"Yes." Rhys said._

 _"Yeah?"_

 _"Yeah. Let's do it." Rhys said._

 _"Yes! You! You are my favorite dude!" Jack said._

 _"So what's next?" Rhys asked. A small arm with a port like plug extended out of the chair._

" _There it is. That's the executive override port. Jack in, and this... will all be yours." Jack said. "Jack in: you get it?" Rhys grabbed the jack and plugged it into his head. "That's it. Here it comes."_

" _Rhys, the machine is off. Did you get the beacon?" A female voice asked Rhys through his ECHO._

 _"All good. Just getting into position." Rhys said._

" _You know... come to think of it, I'm glad you told her about me. It'll be so much easier to appreciate her shocked face when she sees us sitting on the throne." Jack said. The port pulled itself out of Rhys's head._

" _So... is that it? Are we done?" Rhys asked. Jack's laugh began to echo around him. He laughed nervously._

" _Oh ho ho ho, man it feels good to get out of there." Jack said. "Road trip's over, Rhys! We made it!"_

 _"So... what happens now?" Rhys asked._

 _"Oh you? You're getting a huge promotion, pal. And since I'm in the system now, allow me to do the honors." Jack said. His voice then began to boom out across the space station. "Hey hey friends, remember me? It's your old pal Jack. Well, pencils down amigos. I've got someone to introduce you to. There's a new President in town. That's right, baby! Get those hands a'clapping, 'cause I want to give a very special Hyperion welcome to the Chiefiest of Executives. Totally President material. All the way from Janitorial... My man, Rhys!"_

 _"Wait... so this is actually mine?" Rhys asked. "This is mine to control?"_

 _"Take it in, Rhys! Hyperion... Pandora, Elpis... They are just the start! We'll rule this entire friggin' universe! You and me, kiddo. President Rhys and Handsome Goddamn Jack!"_

–

 _Rhys watched as Jack's desk opened up, revealing a robotic skeleton._

 _"Oh, so that prototype I was talkin' about? Yeah. Nakayama actually built it." Jack said._

" _Uh... you said he never finished it." Rhys said._

" _Yeah... I know I lied, but that was before we were partners! Anyway, we're gonna put it inside my original body and upload my consciousness into it, so I'd be wearing my old body like a skin suit! It's great, right?" Jack said._

" _Uh... that's insanely creepy." Rhys said._

 _"I know, right? But in a fun way!" Jack said. "All right now, the one problem was how to get the endoskeleton into my body without killing me first. But since I'm dead anyway, I had a WAY cooler idea. Are you ready for this? This is awesome. We make a shitload of these endoskeletons, we put 'em in the corpses of the bandits we kill, and then we upload my AI into ALL of them!"_

" _You want to make... an army of Jacks?" Rhys asked._

 _"Frickin' awesome, right? I mean, Hyperion troops die in battle? Grab the corpse, shove an endoskeleton into it, BOOM, another Jack! Some asshole gives you lip? BOOM. Jackified. Successfully wipe out a bandit camp? You turn the corpses into MORE JACKS! Within a few months, Hyperion would have the smartest, best looking fighting force in the universe." Jack said. "And the best part is... Rhysie, baby – YOU'RE gonna be the first recipient! Eh?" Rhys started backing away from the suit. "Now, I know, metal skeleton forcing its way into your body – er, scary idea, but like I said, we work SO well together! Your body! My brain! We'll change the frickin' universe, baby!"_

" _What the Hell is wrong with you?!" Rhys asked. "There is no way I am doing that."_

–

 _Rhys stood among the rubble of Hyperion's Helios space station. Around him were various pieces of Jack's office, where he once stood._

" _God d-d-damnit. You know, I really liked that sp-sp-space station." Jack said, his holographic form appearing on the large window that once stood in his office. "I don't think insurance is gonna cover this one. Oh Rhys, you absolute dick. Look what you've done. I built this place with my own two hands. And a couple hundred expendable workers. Now it's rubble. So, thanks for that. Asshole."_

" _You should just die. Again. But for good this time." Rhys said._

" _Just a matter of time, kid." Jack said. "I'm proud of you, kid. You didn't stop at anything to kill me."_

 _"This is the part where you give me the 'we're not so different, you an I.' speech again." Rhys said._

 _"Oh God, no... You're WAY better at killing people than I am. How many people do you think were on Helios, huh?" Jack said. "How many of your coworkers did you just eject into space to get rid of me, huh? What makes you think you're the good guy in this scenario, huh?"_

" _I did what I had to do..." Rhys said. "To rid the world of you. And I sure as Hell would do it again."_

" _Awesome. Cool dogs." Jack said. "I'll spare you the times I told myself exactly the same thing. Hey, whatever gets you to sleep at night, huh? Everyone thinks they're the hero of their own story. I should have seen this coming – ever since I came to this nacho-flavored shithole of a planet, I've been betrayed by everyone I gave a rat's ass about. My boss. My girlfriend. Hell... my goddamn daughter. Maybe I deserved it... the road to Hell is paved with good intentions, right?"_

" _Your daughter betrayed you?" Rhys asked._

" _She didn't have a choice. After she killed her mom... she couldn't control her powers. Kept her hidden for years. Second wife found out about her, bolted. One day, a buncha Vault Hunters helped her betray me... and she killed herself. I just found out... found out again... it was all in the Helios database. Could've done without that part. Take a good luck around you, Rhys... This is what success looks like. You'll see... after a while you start to measure it by the size of the pile of destruction around you. You've gotta break it down to build it back up. This was your first step in that. It's the only way. You'll see. And there's so much to break down before you can build again."_

" _No man. I'll find a different way to find things... I'm not gonna follow in your-" Rhys said. As he did, the port that Jack used to enter the system emerged and plugged into Rhys's head. Rhys cried out as he tore the plug out. Jack laughed before he vanished from the office screen. "No!" Holo-Jack then appeared in front of Rhys._

" _You think you can take ME out, you little shit?!" Jack said, taking control of Rhys's cyber arm. He began to choke Rhys with it. "You ready to do this, Rhys?"_

" _You... kill me... you kill... yourself." Rhys said._

" _Yeah. And that's a sacrifice I'm willing to make." Jack said. Rhys began to struggle. "This! THIS is what commitment looks like, you little fraud." Rhys jammed his cyber arm onto a piece of metal, impaling it. "This is leadership. This is being a goddamn hero. Everything you're not." Rhys stuggled, but finally tore off his cyber arm. "Congratulations, kiddo. You get to live another day... but what about tomorrow? Or the next day?" Rhys grabbed a piece of glass and swung at Jack, passing through his holographic form. "'Cause I'm not going anywhere. As long as you've got those cybernetics in you... I'll be sitting here waiting for my chance to take you out." Rhys placed his finger on his temple, feeling the cyber port. "We're past playing games, Rhysie. All I need is time! One day – when you've forgotten all about me – I'll take over your body and skin you alive with your own two hands." Seizing the opportunity, Rhys dug the piece of glass into his head and began digging out the port. Jack flickered and began to panic. "Wait wait wait wait wait... W-what are you doing? Rhys, what the Hell are you doing?" Rhys pulled out the port. "No-no please, please! Please don't do this!" Rhys pushed the glass into his eye and began to dig out the ECHO eye implant. "No Rhys! You- you don't know what it's like!" Rhys popped out the eye, though it was still connected to him. "Please... Hey! HEY! I'm on my knees here! Please don't send me back there... It's not like they say..." Rhys began removing the eye. "There's nothing... there's absolutely nothing there... Don't do this."_

" _Goodbye, Jack. It's over." Rhys said, as he yanked out the ECHO eye and Jack vanished. He then placed the ECHO eye in his pocket._

* * *

 _Why did he keep the eye if Dad was trapped inside it?_ Angel wondered. _Why not smash it, killing him forever?_

"Angel… Angel honey… Are you in there?" Jack asked.

"Why?" Angel asked.

"Why what, Angel?" Jack asked.

"Why would you trust him?" Angel asked.

"Why would I trust who?" Jack asked.

"No." Angel said, as she disconnected herself from the machine. "Why would you trust my father?"

"Because…" CJ said. "He's not the same monster he was. His death changed him. When he was in that AI form, before he rediscovered that you had died, he wanted to check up on you. Make sure you were okay. And after Helios fell, he talked about feeling betrayed. Hurt by the loss of his daughter. Maybe even hurt that he caused it."

"How… How do you know all this?" Jack asked.

"Same way I know Angel realizes all of it." CJ said. Angel's eyes widened. "It's all in the database." CJ looked at Angel. "I know you saw it. I could tell from your face. In fact, I suspect that Rhys could sense some level of love for Angel in your voice and actions, Jack. I think that's what led him not to destroy the ECHO eye."

"Angel… I'm sorry…" Jack said. "I let my greed and lust for power get the best of me. I should've been looking out for you, protecting you. I'm your father, and I failed at that. Can you forgive me, pumpkin?"

Angel hesitated for a moment. "I guess so." She said.

"Look. It's best if you guys stay in hiding somewhere." CJ said. "There's no telling how the Crimson Raiders will react if they see Angel, let alone you, Jack."

"Listen, kiddo." Jack said. "If we go to Sanctuary together, you could vouch for me while I talk it out with the Vault Hunters. Then, we can all go find a Vault together and get off this planet."

"I don't think that's such a good idea." CJ said. "I was tied up and held hostage at gunpoint just for wearing Hyperion gear. I imagine things would be much worse if you walked into town."

"Fine. How 'bout this? We get in, grab the key, slip out and find ourselves a Vault. No Lilith, no Crimson Raiders, no Vault Hunters." Jack said.

CJ sighed. "I guess you're not giving up. Fine." Angel stepped out of the chamber and stumbled. Before she could fall on her face, both Jack and CJ rushed to help her stand.

"Thanks." Angel said. "Sorry. Haven't walked in a while. Gonna take a bit to get used to this." CJ wrapped his arm around her waist. Stacey and Shaylene got visibly jealous.

"Come on." CJ said. "Let's get to Sanctuary."


	7. Vault of the Prime

**CHAPTER SEVEN: The Vault of the Prime**

CJ, the girls and Jack Fast Traveled into Pierce Station.

"Okay. We need to do this carefully." CJ said. "We can't risk Sanctuary's citizens discovering that you're still-"

"Handsome Jack isn't dead!" Someone screamed.

"-Alive." CJ said. "Damnit." Within moments, the Vault Hunters and other Sages had appeared in Sanctuary Center, now joined by Axton and Krieg.

 **-Axton : Don't mention marriage, Dahl or the name 'Sarah'-**

 **-Krieg : Do YOU have the shiniest meat bicycle? No? Ok-**

"What the Hell?!" Lilith said.

"You _are_ with Hyperion!" Mordecai said.

"No no no!" Alex said. "We're not with Hyperion!" He turned to CJ. "Why are you with Jack? And why did you bring him to Sanctuary!?"

"He's not the monster everyone says he is!" CJ said. "He wouldn't be the way he is if it weren't for Lilith and Moxxi trying to kill him on Helios!"

"How can you cast aside everything he did?" Alex asked. "The destruction of New Haven, the multiple attacks on Sanctuary, manipulating the Vault Hunters into opening the Vault of the Destroyer so he could get rich off of Eridium?"

"Two things he did after being betrayed by people he thought he could trust." CJ said. "And one thing he did so he could buy the company out from under his asshole boss."

"What about destroying the entire Claptrap line?" Alex asked.

"Oh no, he wiped out a bunch of bumbling, clumsy robots." CJ said, sarcasm heavy in his voice. "And he couldn't even successfully wipe out the worst one of the bunch."

Alex sighed. "Fine. What about what he did to Angel?" Everyone watched with shock and amazement as Angel stepped out from behind the group.

"My father's changed." Angel said. "We just want to get off of Pandora."

"And I want to help them." CJ said. "I figure if we can find a Vault, the riches could help them escape."

"Jack, you asshole!" Lilith exclaimed. She began to glow purple and rushed forward. "You should've stayed dead!"

"I'm gonna KILL YOU!" Athena shouted, pulling out a shield bearing a symbol similar to the Greek letter Omega. Suddenly, a strange silver alien-like creature appeared in front of Jack, stopping Lilith's attack. It had large black shoulder pads, red feather-like wristbands, and red-orange feather-like things sticking out behind its head. Where its eyes should have been was a red visor. In its hands was a purple staff.

"Now is not the time for bickering, Vault Hunters." The creature said. "War is coming, and you will need all the Vault Hunters you can get."

"Are you saying Jack is a Vault Hunter?" Lilith asked. "And where the Hell did you go? After saving Athena, you just disappeared."

"A powerful enemy is emerging on Pandora." The creature, known as The Watcher, said. "And this enemy was awoken when the Vault of the Traveler was opened."

"Who is this enemy?" Lilith asked. "What does it want? Why is it on Pandora? How can we stop it?"

"This enemy is one from your past." The Watcher said. "One that is also seeking the power of a Vault. And allowing it to awaken and control the power contained in another Vault could be catastrophic."

"Zarpedon?" Jack asked.

"Commandant Steele?" Lilith wondered.

"Knoxx?" Athena questioned.

"Couldn't we just find the Vault first and use its power to stop this enemy?" CJ asked.

"The Vault this enemy is looking for is the most dangerous Vault ever built." The Watcher said. "The Vault of the Prime."

"Prime?" Gaige asked.

"An ancient creature that once tried to wipe out the Eridians." The Watcher said. "The ancient Eridians built the Vault of the Prime to seal away the dangerous creature. Over time, other Vaults were built, containing treasures that were sealed away to be used when the Prime was awakened or escaped."

"So, the Vault of the Prime is a prison, like the Vault of the Destroyer?" CJ asked.

"Yes." The Watcher said. "As are many other Vaults. The Vault of the Destroyer, the Vault of the Prime and the other prison Vaults that were built were built in locations where portals to other realms appeared. These creatures tried to escape these portals, and the ancient Eridians built these Vaults to both contain the creatures and seal the portals. As was discovered with the Destroyer, these portals were not accidents, but opened by the creatures themselves. Creatures that we suspect were made by other Eridians in other planes of existence. The Prime was the first of these creatures. And the Vault of the Prime was the first Vault to be built."

"What about the other Vaults?" CJ asked. "The one's that aren't prisons? I thought the Warrior was an ancient superweapon."

"It is." The Watcher said. "We created the Warrior, as well as the Sentinel and the Traveler, and sealed them in preparation for the day the Prime escaped. Each of them guarded a treasure that embodies a different value. Except for the Warrior. The Warrior itself was the treasure. The Warrior was a weapon, representing Power. That Vault was sealed by a powerful force. A force that could only be broken by the power of the Vault Key, which needed 200 years to naturally charge or to be forcibly charged by a Siren using Eridium."

"And Eridium didn't appear on Pandora until after the Destroyer was defeated." CJ said.

"Yes and no." The Watcher said. "Eridium was present on Pandora before the Vault of the Destroyer was opened, but it was very rare. That was done on purpose. The Vault was sealed with a magic force that would exponentially increase the growth of Eridium upon the opening of the Vault. The Vault of the Destroyer's seal, along with the Vault of the Warrior, the Vault of the Sentinel and the Vault of the Traveler, were all keys in the seal on the Vault of the Prime."

"How were the rest of those keys?" CJ asked.

"The Vault prisons were all created using the same type of seal." The Watcher said. "However, each seal was weaker than the previous one. The seal on the Vault of the Prime was the strongest, built to only be open every two billion years. Inversely, the Vault of the Destroyer was the weakest, being able to be opened every 200 years. But it was also the last Vault built, and was the last thing the ancient Eridians did as fighting and sealing the Destroyer was their downfall. 10,006 years ago. Exactly 1,999,989,993 years after the Vault of the Prime was built."

CJ thought for a moment. "So, what you're saying is that when the most recent opening of the Vault of the Destroyer occurred, it chronicled 7 years until the seal on the Vault of the Prime was able to be open." He said.

"Yes." The Watcher said.

"But that still doesn't explain how the Vault of the Sentinel and Traveler were keys." CJ said.

"The Sentinel guarded a powerful relic." The Watcher said. "A relic that would give the one who founded it knowledge and wisdom. The knowledge and wisdom to find the other Vaults and how to open them."

"Is that really what you saw when you opened the Vault on Elpis?" Athena asked Jack.

"Jack would've seen more about the Vaults, but because of Lilith's intervention, he witnessed only the Vault of the Warrior and the Vault Key." The Watcher said. "As for the Vault of the Traveler… Inside was an ancient chest. One with the power to send the one who found it to another Vault somewhere in the universe. As such, the Vault itself moved from planet to planet, only warping to planets that held Vaults. Not knowing what the Vault or the chest contained, the one who found it would need the courage to open at the risk of unknown treasure. Though the same is true of all the Vaults."

"But you said the seal could be opened after two billion years. Seven years after the most recent opening of the Vault of the Destroyer." Lilith said. "It's only been 6 years. What makes this threat so real now?"

"When the Sentinel, Warrior and Traveler were defeated, they caused the seal on the Vault of the Prime to weaken further, allowing it to be opened one year earlier." The Watcher said. "But there was one final piece. One final key to the puzzle."

"The Vault Key?" Lilith asked.

"The entrance that seals the Vault of the Prime was split." The Watcher said. "Built on two different planets, on two different planes of existence. The Vault could only be opened when the planets were connected. And these planets remained separate for almost two billion years, before they were connected due to the activation of an ancient monolith found on one of the planets."

"And that planet is Earth." CJ realized.

"Different planes of existence?" Lilith asked. "So, you're not just from off world… You're from another universe."

"The ancient Eridians are powerful beings. Able to transcend time, space, even planes of existence." The Watcher said. "At one time, Pandora only existed to Earth in one fashion. As fiction. But the ancient Eridians transcended planes of existence, laying a monolith on Earth to further guard the Vault of the Prime. With it, they placed one half of the Vault's gate there as well. For almost two billion years, these two planes of existence were separate, connected only by a dormant monolith. Which stayed dormant until the very same year that the Vault of the Prime could be opened. Had these worlds connected one year later, this threat would not exist."

"You foresaw this." Lilith said. "This is what you meant by 'War is coming'."

"No." The Watcher said. "There is more on the horizon. This is but a bump in the road. Connected by your quest to prepare for war, and these Earthlings quest to return home. Stopping the Prime will allow these young ones to return home via the same monolith that brought them here."

"Good job, Alex." Aubrey said. "You just endangered an entire planet by awakening some super ancient demon thing."

"Yes, I touched the monolith and awakened it. I know." Alex said.

"You touched the shiny monolith." Stacey said.

"The hands of stone broke the sleeping of Hell!" Shouted Krieg.

"That might be the most sensible thing I've heard come out of his mouth." Lilith said.

"And that's saying something for a Psycho." Mordecai added.

"What did he say?" Alex asked.

"He said you woke up a demon." Stacey said.

"I need a new sandbox full of baby heads!" Krieg exclaimed.

"Ew. Gross." Shaylene said.

"He wants to fight a Goliath." Stacey said.

"You _would_ understand him." CJ said.

"Ok, so new question." Lilith said. "Ignoring that weirdness. If our world is- or was fiction on Earth, how the Hell did our planets connect? How did all this become real? I mean, I know the monolith brought you here. But on a planet where that very monolith was a piece of fiction, what suddenly caused it to become real and awaken?"

"I guess the best way I can explain it is magic." CJ said. "A man from our future, calling himself Captain N, time traveled to his past- our present day- with a device he called the N-Sphere. It was basically some kind of radioactive bomb. When he detonated it, it caused an onset of magic powers in myself and several of my friends, as well as many other humans within a certain radius of our town. Not only that, but it leveled a couple of city blocks. Other humans affected by its radioactivity gained powers like us. Some elemental, others gained the ability to transform into monsters. Over time, we- or rather, I- found Captain N, who had received his powers as a young adult, not by any special incident- they just naturally developed. As did many others. He told me of a future where the people and the government were at war. A war that ended in favor of the government. He told me of his attempt to flee the country, and how he watched as the government punished his treason by murdering his wife and daughter."

"Wait what?" Stacey asked.

"This doesn't sound familiar." Dayan said.

"I don't remember any of this." Aubrey said.

"I do." Shaylene said. "After what happened to Captain N's family, he traveled back in time. To find himself and a younger age and teach him about what was to come. Try to prevent the future."

"That younger self… Is me." CJ said.

"When the Hell did all of this happen?" Stacey asked.

"When I fought Captain N." CJ said. "You and Shay were unconscious. Everyone else wasn't with us. After I defeated him, I learned more about his future. I learned about the human with powers who was at the helm of our nation's new tyrannical government. A government born of an effort to extinguish all with powers. A government Captain N could have stopped in the first place. A government _I_ could have stopped. But I fled. Went into hiding with my family. Watched as the country went to hell. Until one day it was too late to fight back. So I tried to escape. And my wife and daughter were killed. That wife was- or would have been Stacey. The person at the helm of the government… Jennette."

"What?!" Alex, Dayan, Stacey and Aubrey exclaimed.

"Who?" Lilith asked.

"My older sister." Shaylene said. "When CJ and Stacey married, it broke my heart. Outraged that CJ hurt me, Jennette somehow seized control of a government already bent on taking out anyone with powers. Targeted CJ. Killed Stacey and their daughter. He married me, but it was too late. Jennette had gone mad. And so CJ went back in time with the N-Sphere. Gave himself, and all of us, powers earlier than we would have developed them. Tried to stop the future."

"But when I first told this future to Stacey and Shaylene, they fought. Stacey wanted to kill Shaylene." CJ said. "In her eyes, it would prevent her own death. I tried to reason with her, tell her that it would only cause Jennette to come after us sooner."

"Wait… what?" Stacey asked. "Why… Why don't I remember any of this?"

"Because nothing would get through to you." CJ said. "Even trying to tell you that killing her would lead to Jennette killing you and me living a life without either of you didn't work. You were ready to kill both of them. So, in that moment, I became Captain N. I focused the full force of my powers and transcended time. Back to the day the N-Sphere first leveled half of downtown. The day our powers awoke. Before the N-Sphere was activated, thus reversing everything. Taking away all of our powers, and essentially wiping it all from your memories."

"But the N-Sphere still activated." Dayan said.

"I know." CJ said. "When I went back, I tried to stop Captain N from activating it, but I failed. My powers got stronger and my future self was obliterated. The rest of you regained your powers, with no knowledge that you ever had them before, and rather than leveling downtown, the N-Sphere's effects radiated across the entire planet, bringing entire video game worlds to life."

"And all that awakened the monolith?" Alex asked.

"There's more." The Watcher said. "More about what allowed you to gain these powers."

"We call it the Miyamoto Gene." CJ said. "Named after Shigeru Miyamoto, the man behind some of the most well-known video games, made by Nintendo, since those were the worlds that came to life for the most part."

"There's more about what powers this N-Sphere." The Watcher said. "The effects of the opening of the Vault of the Destroyer weren't just felt on Pandora. They were felt decades later on Earth. In the same way. Eridium began popping up all over the planet. It triggered the awakening of these power. Eridium was the radioactive element that caused these… Catalysts, as I believe you call them, to awaken." CJ's eyes widened. "Do not be surprised. I know more than I would appear to."

"We saw traces of Eridium before the monolith brought us here." CJ said. "Geologists were finding Eridium around the world and some were developing what the news called 'superhuman abilities'. It's what led us to check out the site where the N-Sphere detonated. A place in our hometown called the Woolworth Building. It was there that we found the monolith."

"Yes. When the ancient Eridians left the monolith, they also left trace amounts of Eridium. Trace amounts that grew exponentially when the effects of the Vault of the Destroyer's opening finally traveled across dimensions to reach Earth." The Watcher said. "When you discovered this as an adult, you began to experiment with it. Formed the Smash Brothers and began work on the N-Sphere. You called it that because you knew your powers were Nintendo based. You traveled back in time and gave the world these powers before the growth of Eridium. Which led to a slight increase in its growth."

"But… how does Eridium tie into the Miyamoto gene?" CJ asked. "How does Eridium awaken our powers?"

"Because…" The Watcher said. "When the ancient Eridians left the monolith, the Vault gate piece and the Eridium, some of them stayed behind to protect it. They adapted over time, taking on familiar forms to those who inhabited the planet. Over time, that included human forms. They mingled with the humans, had families, passed on their genetic makeup."

"So, modern day Catalysts are descended from ancient Eridians…" CJ realized.

"Yes." The Watcher said. "And Shigeru Miyamoto is one of those descendants as well. He can see across realms, much like the ancients could travel between them. Those worlds are the games he makes. The very same that mean so much to you, young CJ."

"And I'm guessing that had influence on my creation of the N-Sphere in the future." CJ said.

"Correct." The Watcher said. "As you designed the N-Sphere, the Eridium drew from your mind the memories of these realms from your games. That is what brought those realms, creatures and magic to your plane of existence. They were the most prominent other realms in your mind. And, as Pandora was so strong in your mind as well, upon the second activation of the device, it awakened the monolith."

"Whoa…" Lilith said. "I'm not even sure what to think of all that. Talk about everything getting flipped upside down."

"Pandora has always been as real as Earth. Much like the other worlds that now co-exist with Earth." The Watcher said. "They've just been on separate planes of existence. But when the Vault of the Destroyer opened, it triggered a single event that snowballed into these planes of existence meeting."

"And that single event was my future self coming into contact with Eridium." CJ said. "My powers awakening as Captain N snowballed into all of this… Because of the Vault of the Destroyer opening on Pandora. On an entirely different plane of existence. An event I witnessed in a series of video games actually happened in another dimension and triggered people in my world to develop magic powers."

"So… now that we've established how all this weird stuff happened…" Lilith said.

"How do we know when we're ready to stop or control this Prime?" CJ asked.

"You must destroy it." The Watcher said. "Trying to control it is too risky. Whether or not it can even be controlled is still in question."

"But I thought this new enemy wants to control it?" Shaylene asked.

"It does. But it's not aware that the Prime may not be controllable." The Watcher said. "Which is why you must beat it to the Vault and destroy it."

"How do we do that?" Lilith asked. "Just find this Vault and take the key there? Don't we need 200 years to charge the key?"

"No." The Watcher said. "The power of three Sirens using the key will be enough to open the Vault, provided all three Sirens have a connection to Eridium."

"And we have those three." Lilith said. "Myself, Angel and Stacey."

"Correct." The Watcher said. "Together, you three can open the Vault."

"But first we need to find the Vault." Lilith said. "Come on. Let's go get the key. Each of us Sirens will hold onto a piece of it." Lilith led the Sages and other Vault Hunters into the Crimson Raiders HQ and upstairs. Her eyes widened as they reached the 'central command' of sorts, where they had all their computers and their holo-map of Pandora.

"That's not good…" Mordecai said.

"Shit." Brick said.

"What's wrong?" Shaylene asked.

"The Vault Key is missing." Lilith said.

"We're too late." CJ said. "That means this new enemy must already have it."

"Citizens of Pandora…" A new voiced boomed out over the ECHOnet, sounding through every speaker and ECHO device in Sanctuary. "I… Am your new king. I… Am the greatest threat this planet has ever seen. Dahl, Atlas… Even Hyperion will pale in comparison to my might. No greater power has been seen on Pandora or Elpis before. And soon… my power will grow even more!"

"I recognize that voice…" Athena said. "But… from where?"

"I do too… But I can't pin it…" CJ said.

"Be ready, Pandora…" The voice said. "The revolution has begun! Vault Hunters… I invite you to try to stop me. Come find me in Dividing Faults. At the Hyperion plant." The ECHO line then cut out.

"Dividing Faults? Hyperion had a Claptrap production plant out there." Jack said. "Well… Before I destroyed that product line, I mean."

"That was unnecessary, Jack." Athena said.

"Yeah. We've been there." Lilith said. "When we first came to Pandora."

"Not long after we defeated the Destroyer, some guy named Blake called us out to Tartarus Station." Mordecai said.

"Said the Claptraps were staging some kind of revolution." Brick said.

"So, we fought our way through an army of Claptraps, along with some… strange enemies…" Lilith said.

"Former enemies fitted with weird robot brains." CJ interrupted.

"Exactly." Lilith said. "Commandant Steele-Trap, General Knoxx-Trap and Dr Ned-Trap."

"And when we got to the end of it all, we had to face down the Interplanetary Ninja Assassin Claptrap." Mordecai said. "The same Claptrap that greeted us in Fyrestone when we first came to Pandora."

"The Fragtrap." Athena said. "He was one of my teammates in our mission for Jack. He was also the hiding place for the H-Source. The most powerful code in Hyperion… which Jack used to wipe out the Claptrap line."

"I can't say I blame him." CJ said.

"Dude!" Alex said.

"Claptrap also helped / us after Jack's train blew up / nearly killing us." Zer0 said.

"Yeah." Maya said. "He's the reason we even made it to Sanctuary in the first place."

"If he hadn't found us, we might have frozen to death on that glacier." Gaige said.

"The frozen salt! The wind puppies! The flesh chews!" Krieg shouted.

"Translation, hun?" CJ asked.

"He said the frozen sea air would have turned them into human popsicles." Stacey said.

"…Thanks." CJ said, still weirded out that Stacey could speak Psycho.

"Yeah… That was one hell of a weird fight." Mordecai said.

* * *

 _Mordecai, Brick, Lilith and Roland walked through a small cavern and exited near Fyrestone, where Marcus waited next to a run-down van-like bus._

" _Hello my friends." Marcus said. "Hyperion asked me to transport you to even bigger better planets once you are through dispatching that runty little shit. Exciting new worlds like Eden-6. This one time on Eden-6-" Two shots rang out and Marcus fell to the ground. Standing behind him was Claptrap. Marcus groaned. "If it took more than one shot, you weren't using… a Jakobs… ugh…"_

" _You know, I wasn't 'programmed' for direct combat." Claptrap said. "I also wasn't 'programmed' to overuse air quotes. But obviously I've grown beyond my 'programming', beyond my 'enslavement' and beyond my 'patience' for 'your kind'. Prepare to face the fury of Mega Interplanetary Ninja Assassin Claptrap!" Suddenly, a giant yellow tank like robot flew over Fyrestone, dropping down in front of the four original Vault Hunters._

 _"Why don't you just surrender and join the collective?" MINAC asked. "We have karaoke night!" Lilith and the others engaged in a rough fight, using everything they had against the MINAC, and before long, the robot was out of commission. As MINAC began to explode and break down, Claptrap was thrown out of it._

 _"Goodbye, travelers!" Claptrap said, putting his "fists" up, assuming his robotic claws counted as fists. Mordecai pulled out a corrosive sniper rifle, fired one shot and Claptrap fell._

" _Lilith!" Roland said. "The WIRED device!" Claptrap struggled to get back up and run away, as Lilith pulled out a strange device with an antenna on top and pointed it in Claptrap's direction._

" _No no no! You'll never take me alive!" Lilith activated the device, zapping Claptrap. "Mark my words! I'll gut every last one of you with my bare clamps and wear your scalps as a jaunty flesh derby!" She zapped him a few more times, listening to him say stupid things about "the Robolution", before he finally started to sound normal… for Claptrap, anyway. "I'm afraid… What's happening to me? My mind is going. I can feel it. My mind is going. There's no question about it, I can feel it! I-I'm… afraid." She waited a moment, before Claptrap jumped up, his former red eye now blue again. "Hello Travelers!"_

" _Unbelievable! Just outstanding. You've quashed the rebellion, saved Pandora, and restored the good name of the Hyperion Corporation." Jeffrey Blake said. "Unfortunately, you've also voided that Claptrap's warranty, so now you're stuck with him. However, there is still the matter of the reward you were promised. Come see me."_

* * *

"Sounds like an adventure." CJ said.

"Based on your knowledge of the Claptrapped enemies, I'm assuming your universe's fiction about Pandora featured that adventure." Lilith said.

"You assume correctly." CJ said. "But now's not the time for discussing my world's version of Pandora. We need to get to Dividing Faults and find out who this mysterious force is."

It didn't take long for the Vault Hunters and the Sages to Fast Travel to an area filled with gorges, gullies, and plateaus. Perched atop the farthest and highest plateau was a large factory.

"This is it." Lilith said. "The Claptrap Plant at Dividing Faults."

CJ looked at the crumbling factory and thought for a moment. "Didn't you guys have to destroy the factory's coolant pumps during the Robolution?"

"Yup." Mordecai said. "Thought we were just gonna bring the factory down on those Claptraps."

"Should've brought the thing down after wiping out those damn robots." Jack said. Suddenly a new set of voices rang out nearby.

"Do you want to clean my kitchen sink with your big fat teeth?!"

"SEEEEEEEEMEN!"

"I'm gonna kill you with a fish stick!"

"Vault Hunter! It's the Vault Hunter!"

"Viva la Robolution!" The gang looked toward the factory and saw a group of shirtless men with masks and various melee weapons running toward them, along with several Hyperion soldiers and a group of Claptraps. On the human enemies' heads were strange glass domes containing brains. Attached to the front of the domes were satellite dish type devices.

"Great." Lilith said. "They've all been Claptrapped."

"Yup. _Definitely_ should've brought the factory down." Jack said.

"Jack, I thought you wiped out the Claptraps." Athena said.

"I did." Jack said. "The H-Source should've destroyed every one of them... except the Fragtrap."

"So, someone's producing more." CJ said.

"Well, let's kill these guys and get through to that plant!" Jack said. "Find out who the Hell is reproducing those damn robots!"

"Executing Phase shift…" Angel said. Suddenly, one of the Claptraps stopped moving before exploding among a group of Hyperion soldiers.

"Nice!" CJ said. "Good work, Angel!"

"Thanks." Angel said.

"I don't want to hurt my Claptraps." Stacey said.

"Then you can get killed by them!" Alex said, summoning his golems. One of them rushed over to a group of the shirtless men, known as Psychos, and began hurling boulders at them, crushing them.

"Stacey, your Venom is the perfect weapon to fight them with!" CJ said.

"No! I don't want to hurt my babies!" Stacey said.

"Damnit, Stacey! We need to fight through them to reach the factory!" CJ said.

"I'll handle it!" Angel said, as her Siren tattoos began to glow. Two more of the Claptraps self-destructed amongst the others, causing several more Claptraps to explode.

"Thank you, Angel." CJ said.

"Stupid frickin' robots!" Jack said, firing laser blasts from cannons mounted on his wrists.

"Watch your backs!" Lilith said, vanishing. She quickly reappeared in a group of Hyperion soldiers, causing a fiery explosion.

"Get to the factory!" Dayan said.

"We'll cover our entrance!" Shaylene said. The two tossed down their turrets. Ice bursts froze the remaining enemies as laser fire caused the frozen Psychos, soldiers and Claptraps to shatter. Before long, the group was inside the factory. As they expected, the machinery inside was back in working condition, new Claptrap units flowing off the assembly line at a fast pace. As they walked in, a shot rang out as a bullet pierced the floor.

"Sniper fire!" Athena called out. "Watch out!" She quickly activated her shield, protecting everyone. Suddenly, four Claptraps appeared from nowhere behind the group, quickly grabbing the four Sirens.

"Back off!" Maya said, trapping a Claptrap in a sphere of energy.

"Yay! Friends!" Stacey called out. Angel's tattoos glowed as the Claptraps trying to grab her and Stacey exploded.

"Where's Lilith?" Mordecai asked.

"Let me go!" Lilith shouted. The gang turned to see a group of Claptraps holding her hostage.

"You're getting us out of here." One of the Claptraps said, snapping a strange collar-like device around Lilith's neck. "Let's go. Out. Now." Lilith struggled, but ultimately, she and the Claptraps vanished in a flash of purple light.

"Damnit!" Mordecai swore. "How the Hell did we just let a bunch of Claptraps kidnap Lilith?"

"They weren't programmed for anything they just did. Sniping, stealth…" Jack said. "None of that is my work."

"I made some modifications…" A new voice said. They looked up at a nearby platform and saw the Fragtrap. The same Claptrap that had been an ally to all the Vault Hunters.

"Claptrap?" Brick asked.

"What the Hell is going on?" Mordecai asked.

"I've modified the Claptrap protocols." Claptrap said, his voice now deeper and smoother than his default high-pitched tone. "Adding some of my own programming. My… Improved programming."

Athena gasped. "I know where I recognize that voice from!" She said. "Shadowtrap!"

 **-Sh4d0w-Tr4p (Shadowtrap) : Everyone's worst frenemy-**

"Wait… The evil part of Claptrap that you guys defeated when you grabbed the H-Source?" Jack asked.

"I didn't die on that day." Shadowtrap said. "In fact, I'm the reason Claptrap didn't die when you dumped him on the glacier, Jack. I survived our fight. I survived the H-Source. I was the last bit of code surviving inside Claptrap. I used my power to revive Claptrap after you attempted to kill him. I rebuilt his code, little by little. And when I was done, I fully awakened the old protocols buried deep within his code. Deep within his subconscious."

"The Ninja Assassin protocols…" Mordecai realized.

"Not just that." Shadowtrap said. He vanished, reappearing in front of the group.

"It is but a ruse. / A chance to escape us fast. / We must not let him." Zer0 said.

"He's trying to escape!" CJ said. CJ and Zer0 rushed past the decoy and leaped up to the platform where Shadowtrap had been standing. "Damn. He's gone." The decoy exploded in a cloud of smoke. When the smoke died down, a new figure was standing before the group. He was a man with a large build, wearing a blue robe, gold breastplate and silver helmet with two horns on it. On his left shoulder was a spiked shoulder pad and at his waist was a red pistol. On his head was the same strange device as the Psychos and Hyperion troops outside the factory.

 **-Captain Flynt-Trap : Shadowtrap's hot new puppet-**

"Oh, you've met my new plaything." Shadowtrap's voice rang out through the gang's ECHOs. "Captain Flynt-Trap. Yes, I finally got revenge on Captain Flynt for all the terrible things he did to Claptrap. Brought him back to life, as a Claptrap-controlled zombie of course. Now, in addition to it being his turn to play games like 'Dodge the Blowtorch' and 'Don't Get Dunked in the Pool of Acid', he's here to stop you from catching up to me and my shiny new Vault Key."

"Of course…" CJ said. "Let's make swift work of this prick."

"He wasn't exactly a challenge the first time around." Axton said. He tossed his turret to the ground, as did Dayan and Shaylene, and much to no one's surprise, it didn't take long before Flynt-Trap collapsed to the ground.

"Thanks… for freeing me… from that Claptrap… Grinder…" Were the final breaths to escape Flynt's lungs before he died for a second time.

"That was stupidly easy." Mordecai said.

"That was no challenge. / I found no thrill in that fight. / Perhaps the next one?" Zer0 said.

"So… you never really specified what kind of fiction Pandora was in your world." Gaige said. "Book? Comic? ECHOnet show?"

"Video game." CJ said. "A series of them. And all of you are the playable characters. I'm guessing the people who made the games may have the ability to see other realms and they saw Pandora and decided to create a video game about it."

"That… is… awesome!" Gaige exclaimed.

"So… Was Captain Flynt a pushover?" Maya asked.

"Very much." CJ said.

"So… what do we do now?" Axton asked.

"We find Lilith." Mordecai said. "And we put a bullet through Claptrap."


	8. Another Train to Catch

**CHAPTER EIGHT: Another Train to Catch**

"How exactly are we going to find Shadowtrap?" CJ asked. "It's not like he's broadcasting his location to us."

"Well… You beat Flynt." Shadowtrap's voice rang out. "I'm not surprised. He was weak. Anyway, the Vault Key was useless. But I'm going to hold onto it. For safe keeping, I've split it and given the three fragments to three of my minions. I'm also holding onto your friend Lilith for when I figure out how to open the Vault. And because fleshbags make good servants. And she was never really Claptrap's friend anyway. None of you were."

"I am…" Stacey said sadly.

"Well, I'll deal with you pathetic humans in due time." Shadowtrap said, ending the ECHO call.

"Now what?" Mordecai asked.

"We could make our way to the computer room." Angel said. "With any luck, I can Phaseshift into the systems and try to find the pieces of the Vault Key."

"Then, let's go." CJ said. "Let's find the room that runs this place."

"Upper level. East side." Jack said. Jack lead the group through the factory and into a medium sized office filled with computers and other equipment.

"Thanks, Jack." CJ said. "Angel, can you do the thing?"

"Let me see what I can do." Angel said, her Siren tattoos beginning to glow. She then began to glow white and vanished in a flash of light. Her voice then echoed through the computer speakers. "I'm in."

"What did you find?" Mordecai asked.

"I just got in." Angel said. "Relax. I need a minute." She continued to run through the system. Within a few minutes, a bright light filled the room and Angel was then standing in front of the group again.

"I'm guessing you have our information." CJ said.

"I've got our information and a familiar phrase." Angel said. "The first Vault Key fragment is on a train."

"Where's the train?" Maya asked.

"At last check, passing through the Tundra Express." Angel said.

"I'm guessing there's no chance of catching this train out there." CJ said.

"No." Mordecai said. "It'll be long gone before we can get out there and get the equipment to sabotage its route."

"Damn." CJ said.

"So, based on your knowledge of our world, I can assume you know about Tina?" Mordecai asked.

"The 13-year-old explosives expert?" CJ questioned. "Of course."

"14-year-old explosives expert." Brick said.

"Let's go." Mordecai said. "I know the Fast Travel code to Tundra Express. As I'm sure you know, I spent a lot of time out there during Jack's quest to awaken the Warrior."

"Multiple trains passing through and an Eridium mine." CJ said. "I'm not surprised. One question: Who the Hell is General Rancid?"

"Not important." Mordecai said. Before long, the gang reached the Fast Travel Station in Dividing Faults. Mordecai entered the Fast Travel code and the gang vanished into blueish-white data streams. Within a few moments, they appeared in a snow-covered wasteland. To the west was a small group of buildings, a train station, and beyond that, more train tracks. To the far north was a small farm. To the east was an ice-filled river. Broken, above the river, was a railroad bridge. In the center of the area was a tall rock formation, and atop the formation was a tall tower. Scattered around the area were spire-like hives.

"This place looks a lot smaller in the game." Alex said.

"I'm still trying to wrap my head around being a video game." Gaige said. "Not that it isn't awesome."

"The fish sticks run from the burning hellscape of molten metal and screaming midgets!" Krieg shouted.

"The Hell?" CJ asked.

"He's hungry." Stacey said.

"All that to say he's hungry?" CJ asked.

"Don't question my hubby." Stacey said. CJ sighed.

"Ignoring… whatever the Hell that's all about…" Mordecai said. "Welcome to the Tundra Express. Tina's home is-"

"In a cave under the giant rock formation over there." CJ interrupted, pointing to the rock formation that was home to the tower.

"Yeah." Mordecai said. "Stop knowing everything. I'm starting to like you less, kid."

"My bad." CJ said.

"Also, Jack and Angel probably shouldn't come with us." Mordecai said.

"So what? We just leave them alone and go visit the crazy 13-year-old with explosives?" Aubrey asked.

"14." Brick said.

"No." Mordecai said. "Raiders, stay here with Jack and Angel. Kid, you and two of your friends come with me to meet Tina."

"By 'kid', I assume you mean me?" CJ asked.

"Yes. I mean you." Mordecai said.

"Ok. Stacey and Shay. You come with us." CJ said. Mordecai led the three through the tundra and into a cave. Inside the cave was a something resembling a water tower, a small house-like building, and a garage with a bed, toolbench and an Ammo Vendor. Outside the garage was a generator and small table with four chairs. On the table was a tea set. Inside the garage was blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl around 14 who was tinkering with a device covered in wires. She had hair just shorter than shoulder-length, tied into two small pigtails that hung down along the sides of her face and were tied with pink ribbon. She wore a pink tank top, orange pants, and a brown apron with a pink patch bearing a picture of a rabbit. On her feet were mismatched shoes: one a white-and-gray sneaker; the other a blue Mary Jane.

 **-Tiny Tina: World's Deadliest** **14-year-old-**

"Yo Tina." Mordecai said.

"Konnichiwa!" Tina said cheerfully. "Wanna play Bunkers and Badasses?"

"She's so cute!" Stacey exclaimed.

"Not now, Tina." Mordecai said. "We've got a job."

"Ooh ooh ooh! What kind of a job? Whatcha doin'?" Tina asked.

"We're blowing up another train." CJ said, stepping forward.

"And you wants my 'splosives?" Tina asked.

"That's what we were hoping." Mordecai said.

"So, who are these guys?" Tina asked. "New Vault Hunters?"

"I guess you could call us that." CJ said.

"So. So. So so so. Why you gotsta blow up a train?" Tina asked.

"Vault Key's been stolen." Mordecai said. "There's a train carrying one of the pieces."

"Plot twist!" Tina said.

"Remember the stories we told you about the Interplanetary Ninja Assassin Claptrap and Shadowtrap?" Mordecai asked.

"You mean when Claptrap went all evil and then the evil version of Claptrap that tried to steal the super evil Hyperion code thingy?" Tina asked.

"Exactly." Mordecai said.

"Why would he steal the Vault Key?" Tina asked.

"Well, there's a Vault." CJ said. "A new Vault. A super powerful one. A prison holding an ancient beast known as the Prime. I think Claptrap plans to open this Vault and use the Prime to wipe out anyone and anything that isn't robotic on Pandora."

"Claptrap's already tried to open it." Mordecai said. "And he's kidnapped Lilith."

"Me and my girls are in." Tina said. "So where are you intercepting that train?"

"I'm not sure." Mordecai said. "We need to figure out where the train is and where it's heading. Last check, it was passing through here. But there's a decent chance it's already gone through."

"So how are you gonna find it?" Tina asked.

"We may not need to find the train itself." CJ said. "If we can figure out where it's going and sabotage the tracks along the way, we can wait and raid the train when it crashes."

"Good idea." Mordecai said.

"Cool. Just a secko. Lemme grab my boomers." Tina said. Tina ran into the garage and soon walked out with a few stacks of dynamite.

"Awesome." CJ said. "Thank you for your help, Tina." CJ held the dynamite at his side and it vanished into his ECHO. CJ, Mordecai and the girls exited Tina's workshop and made their way back to their friends near the Tundra Express Fast Travel station.

"So, what now?" Brick asked.

"Well, we figure out where the train's going." Mordecai said.

"Angel, any chance you can do that for us?" CJ asked.

"Of course." Angel said. "Though, since Claptrap is working through Hyperion's network, I'd need to get access to a computer in a Hyperion facility."

"The Ruins of Helios still have access to the Hyperion network." CJ said. "And Athena gave us the Fast Travel code to get there."

"Good. Let's go there then." Angel said. CJ entered the code into the Fast Travel station and within moments, the gang appeared near the Ruins of Helios. CJ led them through to the main room where the Children of Helios ran everything from, which was surprisingly empty.

"Ok. I'll admit I didn't expect _a lot_ of people, but I also didn't expect this place to be empty." CJ said.

"It was empty the last time we came here." Athena said. "Besides, most of the Children of Helios are in either Opportunity or Sanctuary. Vaugh and most of the suit and tie kind of employees are in Opportunity. They've been converting the old city into an Atlas city instead of a Hyperion one. Atlas HQ is being built at the old site of the…" She paused for a moment, visibly disturbed by what she was about the say. "…Opportunity Pleasure Palace."

"Not my beautiful paradise…" Jack whined.

"As for the Lancemen themselves, I told them to stay back in Sanctuary and protect the city." Athena said.

"Wait… told?" Alex questioned.

"Atlas General Athena, commander of all Atlas troops on Pandora, at your service." Athena said.

"How is this detail just getting out now?" CJ asked.

"You never asked." Athena said. "Speaking of things that were never asked. Is this why you went to check out the lab while everyone else returned to Sanctuary?" She pointed to Jack and Angel.

"Yes." CJ said. "I guess it's time to explain more about Borderlands."

"Borderlands?" Gaige asked.

"Borderlands is the name of the game franchise that I know all of you from." CJ said. "Split across four games. Borderlands, Borderlands 2, Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel and Tales from the Borderlands. Each one chronicles a different series of events from Pandora's past 6 years. The first Borderlands was about the original four Vault Hunters and their quest to find the Vault of the Destroyer. Borderlands 2 was about the quest to stop Jack from waking the Warrior. Borderlands The Pre-Sequel was about Jack's rise to power and the Dahl assault on Helios. And Tales from the Borderlands was about Rhys, Fiona and the search for the Vault of the Traveler."

"And how accurate to actual events do you think these games were?" Athena asked.

"Based on things I've seen and heard since arriving on this planet, pretty accurate." CJ said. "I saw what happened with the Merriff in Concordia. I saw when Moxxi, Lilith and Roland- mostly Moxxi- tricked Jack into sabotaging the Eye of Helios. I saw when Lilith stormed into the Vault of the Sentinel and branded Jack's face with the Vault Symbol."

"Speaking of Jack's face. / I would like to return this. / It is your mask, Jack." Zer0 said, holding out a mask that resembled Jack's face. Jack grabbed the mask and slipped it on.

"I also saw everything that happened with Jack and Rhys in both his office and these very ruins." CJ said. "His talk about wanting to check on Angel. The sadness and pain in his voice as he talked about his failures. How he said that he just wanted to make Pandora a better place."

"So… you also saw my death?" Angel asked.

"Yes, along with the deaths of Roland, Bloodwing… Even Zarpedon and Scooter." CJ said somberly.

"Wait wait wait… Don't tell me you're actually sad about the crazy chick who tried to kill us on Elpis?" Jack questioned.

"Being in my position, as a player who witnessed these events from a sort of third-person perspective… As someone who saw all this as an arguably omniscient force playing through a storyline, I saw multiple sides to a lot of things." CJ said. "While I didn't agree with Zarpedon's methods, I understood where she was coming from. For my world, these games were not released in the order they happened. The first tale we played was the quest to find the Vault of the Destroyer. The second quest was the quest to stop you, Jack, from waking the Warrior. Then came your quest on Elpis. I think when Zarpedon was led to the Vault of the Sentinel, she witnessed your rise to power and your quest to awaken the Warrior. Much like those in my reality saw first, before playing through the story of that quest to find the Vault of the Sentinel. We witnessed an insane, evil man bent on scorching an entire planet. Then years later, we played through the story of the same man years earlier trying to _save_ a moon inhabited by innocent people."

"So… you're saying you _don't_ think she was nuts?" Jack asked.

"I'm saying I saw more than one side." CJ said. "I saw two people who started off with noble intentions, but maybe lost sight of those and were driven down darker paths. I saw Pandora for what it is: a lawless planet, not of good and evil, but of gray morality. A planet of survivors. A planet of fighters."

"And that drove you to revive Jack?" Athena asked.

"No." CJ said. "Though I can't say I wouldn't have if I had been given the opportunity. When we reached the lab, Jack's body was already gone. He had already been brought back by other means. I stayed back, armed with the knowledge that someone had revived him, along with my knowledge from Tales from the Borderlands and Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel about the AI Jack program, Rhys's cybernetics and the immortality suits. Using this knowledge, I started searching for a way to revive Angel."

"But why?" Angel asked. "What is so special about me? You came here from another planet… Another reality, and worked to find a way to bring life back to someone who, in your world, was nothing more than fiction."

"Because… When I first played Borderlands 2, and I was met with the same surprised at the Bunker as Zer0, Maya, Gaige and the other Vault Hunters – the surprise that not only were you human, but you were a Siren and Jack's daughter – and I then had to play through the Vault Hunters cutting your ties to Eridium at the cost of your life… It made me furious." CJ said. "I don't know why. I've always been that way. I've always built somewhat emotional connections to fictional universes in games and TV shows. Having to end your life made me pissed at Jack. And this was after watching him kill Bloodwing…" He paused and looked at Mordecai. "…I'm sorry, by the way."

"Thanks." Mordecai said.

"There was something about watching you die that made me look forward to putting a bullet in Jack's head." CJ said. "Even if it was just fiction. You were the last straw in a series of events that built my hatred for your father. Bloodwing, learning about the Eridium experiments that killed Tina's parents, and then watching you die… It was what drove me through that last part of the game. And when a twist of fate dropped us on this planet, and I learned that all of it was real, and I saw an opportunity to give you back part of the life you were robbed of, I had to take it."

"So that's why you stayed back at the lab?" Athena asked. "To try to revive Angel?"

"Yes." CJ said. "Like I said, I'm not really sure what drove me." He looked at Angel. "Maybe it was your eyes. Filled with innocence and beauty. Maybe it was because you're young, and I couldn't stand the thought of a life being cut so short."

"So… In this game, how did you kill me?" Jack asked.

"The Teapot." CJ said. "It was-" Zer0 interrupted him.

"An acid pistol. / It was for killing Flesh-Stick. / From Tiny Tina." He said.

"It was my way of getting justice for Tina and avenging Angel." CJ said.

"I deserved it." Jack said.

"Let's find this train." Angel said, her tattoos glowing. "We have a Vault to protect." She then vanished, enveloped by a bright white-blue glow of a data stream. "Got it! The train is moving through Tartarus Station right now."

"Destination?" CJ asked.

"New Haven." Angel said. "En route via the Arid Nexus."

"I have the Fast Travel code to Fyrestone." CJ said. "We can Fast Travel there and cut it off."

"No use." Mordecai said. "We wouldn't be able to catch it fast enough."

"So what do we do?" Alex asked. Angel then reappeared near the group. Her tattoos faded and she was breathing heavy.

"Angel… Baby are you okay?" Jack asked. Angel stumbled, nearly falling, but CJ was quick to respond, catching her and holding her up.

"Thanks." Angel said. Once again, this was met with looks of jealousy from both Stacey and Shaylene.

"We're in luck." Mordecai said. "Brick and I know the Fast Travel code to New Haven. Assuming the Fast Travel Station still works after Jack's assault on the city, we can get there." The gang rushed to the Fast Travel Station and Mordecai punched in the code.

"Error… Fast Travel location [New Haven] not available." A computer voice echoed from the Fast Travel station.

"Damn." CJ swore. "What now?"

"Don't sweat it." Mordecai said. "Backup plan. We Fast Travel to the Rust Commons and hoof it to New Haven. We should still be able to beat the train."

"Then let's do it." CJ said. Mordecai punched a new code into the Fast Travel station and the group was quickly enveloped in the light of Fast Travel. Within seconds, they re-materialized near a Catch-a-Ride Station on the edge of a wasteland.

"So which way?" Stacey asked.

"That way." Mordecai said, pointing behind them. "Through that tunnel."

"What about the Catch-A-Ride?" CJ asked.

"It's not a long tunnel." Mordecai said. "10-15 minute walk." The gang entered the tunnel and within a short amount of time, emerged in an area surrounded by piles of scrap metal and trash. Ahead of them was a train station and off to their right was the ruins of a city. Atop those ruins were a large factory.

"I… didn't build that." Jack said. "By which I mean I didn't order that to be built. Jack doesn't do manual labor." It was then that a group of Claptrapped Bandits and Claptraps came running out of nearby ruins and rubble.

"Well… Guess it's fighting time." CJ said.

"Do you think we beat the train?" Stacey asked.

"Can't worry about that now." Alex said, summoning his golems. Gaige then digistructed a large hovering legless robot. Attached to one of its arms was a set of large metal claws.

"It's robot fighting time!" Gaige called out. Zer0 then went invisible and disappeared.

"Your eyes deceive you. / An illusion fools you all. / I move for the kill." Zer0 said, as a holographic decoy appeared and started swinging its sword around.

"Stacey! The Claptraps!" CJ said.

"I'm not hurting my babies!" Stacey said. Suddenly, a group of kunai flew out of nowhere, striking a Claptrap and causing it to explode. An Eridian artifact was thrown into the air, dropping in front of CJ.

"Nice, another one." He said, picking it up. This one gave off a green glow. As soon as he picked it up, a vision flashed in his mind.

* * *

 _CJ rushed to the top of a pile of rubble, drawing his knife as he ran. He leaped into the air and vanished. Suddenly, a wave of corrosive energy rippled out along the ground, destroying several Claptraps. It was quickly followed by a wave of shock energy, stunning several of the bandits. CJ then reappeared at the point where the wave originated from, his knife jammed into the ground._

* * *

"Sweet! Check this out guys!" CJ said, drawing his knife. He rushed up a nearby pile of rubble, vanishing as he ran.

"What's he doing?" Shaylene wondered, tossing her laser turret. A few corrosive blasts fired off, taking out a handful of Claptraps. A small quake then shook the area as CJ reappeared, his dagger jammed into the ground. A wave of shock energy rushed out from him, stunning several bandits.

"Go!" CJ said. Seizing the opportunity, Aubrey rushed forward, wrapping one of the bandits in her whip. She pulled back and snapped her whip forward, throwing the bandit into the rest of them. She then fired several shots from her Tediore SMG into the air, and then threw the gun at the pile of bandits. A new gun digistructed in her hands as the thrown gun exploded, sending bandit body parts flying in all directions.

"Gross." Dayan said, tossing down his turret.

"Never knew you weren't a fan of guts and gore." CJ said.

"Not when it's right in front of me." He said, emptying a clip of his Arctic Frostfire, freezing several bandits and a few Claptraps. Angel let out a frustrated sigh.

"I _was_ gonna Phaseshift that Claptrap and use it against its friends." She said.

"There's plenty more." CJ said, piercing a bandit's chest with his dagger. He chuckled as a shock rippled through the bandit's body. "Fried bandit, anyone?"

"Dude. Ew." Angel said.

"Oh my God, she said the thing!" CJ said, slicing through a Claptrap, having switched to corrosive for his dagger.

"I what?" Angel asked, phaseshifting a Claptrap and causing it to self-destruct amongst a group of other Claptraps.

"There's a point in Borderlands 2 where you say 'Dude, ew' and it's one of my favorite lines." CJ said, slicing through several more Claptraps. "It's right up there with 'I dunno'. It really helped emphasize the fact that you were just a girl and not some super advanced AI."

"Come on! We've got a clear path to the factory!" Axton said. "We've got three turrets, a robot, and two rock monsters covering us!"

"Yeah, but there's a giant metal door blocking the entrance." Jack said, as he blasted a Claptrap with his wrist-mounted laser cannon. "That's kind of a problem."

"I punch our problem." Brick said. He rushed forward, charging fist first into the door. The Sages watched in amazement as Brick punched a hole through it.

"Damn." Dayan said.

"And _that's_ why he's the berserker." CJ said.

"Is that my title in your game?" Brick asked, punching a Claptrap.

"Yup." CJ said, slicing a bandit in half, shocking it in the process.

"I like it." Brick said. The group quickly rushed through the door, covered by Deathtrap, Ares, Ajax and the turrets.

"Whoa…" Gaige said. The inside of the factory was filled with conveyor belts that were mass producing Claptraps and Claptrapping brain devices. "This is one part terrifying and one part really sexy."

"No, this is all parts terrifying." Alex said.

"Look! Up there!" Angel said. Above the production line was a small office. Inside the office, protected by a magic barrier, was a piece of the Vault Key.

"So we didn't beat the train." Mordecai said. "Good. In that case…"

"We get the Vault Key and use Tina's dynamite to blow up the factory?" CJ asked.

"I take back what I said in Tundra Express, kid." Mordecai said. "I'm not starting to like you less. I like the way you think." Suddenly, the front wall of the office exploded and a new enemy dropped down in front of them. He was a bald man with the upper body of a man and the lower body of a Loader bot. He stood at a towering 8 to 10 feet tall and his arms were augmented with large cybernetics. Atop his head was a Claptrapping device and he wore a pair of large goggles. Mounted on his right shoulder was a cannon.

"Wilhelm…" Mordecai said.

 **-Wilhelm-Trap : Anyone got poison?-**

"Vault Hunters…" Shadowtrap's voice boomed across the factory's loudspeakers. "Meet Wilhelm-Trap. Also known as your doom!"

"The new generation Vault Hunters took down Wilhelm like he was nothing." Mordecai said.

"Yeah… About that." Jack said. "I poisoned Wilhelm before the fight so he'd lose and you guys would take the power core. It was the easiest way to ensure that you guys got the power core and connected Angel to Sanctuary's shields."

"Great…" Mordecai said.

"A challenging kill. / This fight will be difficult. / A true test of skill." Zer0 said.

"Now it's really robot fighting time!" Gaige said.

"Fitting place for a fight like this." CJ said, firing a rapid six shots from his revolver, all of which bounced harmless off of Wilhelm-Trap's robotic body. He quickly reloaded. "Given that Wilhelm is responsible for the destruction of New Haven." He fired six more shots in rapid succession before vanishing. Most of the shots harmlessly ricocheted again, but the sixth shot pierced Wilhelm-Trap's left eye.

"Damn kid!" Mordecai said. "Hell of a shot!"

"Come on, guys! We can win this!" Alex said, as Ares began flinging boulders at Wilhelm. "Damn! They're barely slowing him down."

"Take this!" Mordecai shouted. A sniper bullet exploded on impact with Wilhelm, coating him in Slag.

"Need a hand, Mordecai?" Aubrey asked, firing a slag clip from her Deft Jackal, adding to Wilhelm's Slag coating.

"Axton! Dayan! Let's do the thing!" Shaylene said. She, Axton and Dayan quickly threw down their turrets. Axton threw his closest to Wilhelm-Trap. Upon landing, it opened in a small nuclear explosion, causing Wilhelm-Trap to stumble backward. Dayan and Shaylene's turrets fired off a cryo blast and a corrosive laser respectively, freezing Wilhelm-Trap's left shoulder and coating his right arm in acid.

"Deathtrap! Go give Ares a hand!" Gaige said. Deathtrap flew toward Ares, who was still chucking boulders at Wilhelm-Trap. As the boulders flew, Deathtrap fired a laser at them, causing them to explode into small kunai-like sharp rocks that began to make a dent in Wilhelm-Trap's armor.

"It's working!" CJ said, turning invisible.

"Keep it up!" Stacey said, emptying a clip from her Venom.

"Here comes the pain train! Woo woo!" Brick shouted, rushing fist first toward Wilhelm-Trap. He reached the robotic man and began punching him furiously, as a dagger pierced the exposed part of Wilhelm's right arm. Using his other arm, Wilhelm swatted CJ and Brick away. Brick was knocked to the ground just behind everyone, and CJ was flung into a nearby wall.

"CJ!" Shaylene, Stacey and Angel exclaimed simultaneously. CJ groaned as he weakly stood back up.

"That hurt." He said, struggling to speak following the impact knocking the wind out of him. It was then that Wilhelm's goggles began to glow and he began digistructing Surveyors.

"Shield Surveyors!" Jack said.

"I'll see if I can Phaseshift them!" Angel said. Before she could focus her powers, a Slag bullet pierced one of the Surveyors, causing it to explode. CJ struggled to stand up, firing off a couple shots from his revolver. One shot hit the second surveyor, the second missed both the Surveyor and Wilhelm-Trap, lodging in the factory wall.

"Let's make face gravy!" Suddenly, a pair of brutish men in gray pants, shirts that were too small for them, and metal helmets crashed through the factory roof. One was dual-wielding machine guns and the other held a minigun.

"Look out. Goliaths. / Do not shoot their helmets off. / They will be enraged." Zer0 said.

"I see meat muscles!" Krieg shouted.

"That means badass." Maya said, as she trapped the dual-wielding Goliath in a glowing orb of swirling purple and blue energy.

"Brick, Alex and Stacey, focus on the Badass Golitah." CJ said, his strength and wind returning to him. "He's fleshy, so the Sawbar and the Toasty Kindle should make relatively swift work of him. Brick-"

"I'm gonna punch him." Brick said.

"You punch him." CJ said, firing off a couple more shots, destroying the second Shield Surveyor. "Aubrey, help Maya with the regular Goliath. Everyone else, focus fire on Wilhelm! I'm going in close. I'm gonna see if I can't get in close and yank that weird brain tube off of his head." Everyone except Stacey, Alex and Brick turned their attention back to Wilhelm as CJ went invisible. Shaylene and Dayan had swapped patterns. Dayan was now coating Wilhelm's right arm in ice while Shaylene was coating his left in acid. Ares and Deathtrap were still striking Wilhelm with stone kunai, Axton was frequently reclaiming his turret and throwing in back out, causing repeated mini nuclear explosions, Zer0 and Mordecai were perched in a nearby window, working together to coat Wilhelm-Trap in Slag. Salvador was in full Gunzerker mode, dual-wielding rocket launchers, and Krieg was running around the factory, trashing the conveyor belts and machinery with his buzzaxe. Occasionally, a Claptrap would be digistructed by the machines, but Angel would make swift work of them with her Phaseshift, taking control of them and causing them to self-destruct. Jack and Athena stood at the factory's entrance, using their wrist laser and Aspis shield respectively to fight back the Claptraps and bandit-traps outside. Wilhelm-Trap suddenly pointed his shoulder-mounted cannon up. He fired off several rockets, aimed for the roof. Hearing the rockets, Athena quickly turned, throwing her shield into the air.

"Everyone, run!" Athena shouted. Everyone quickly rushed out of the factory, as the energy absorbed by Athena's shield from the bandits and Claptraps held enough power to slow the falling debris. As soon as everyone got outside, Shaylene gasped.

"CJ's not out yet!" She said.

"Shit." Angel said. "That's not good." A sudden explosion rocked New Haven and debris was sent flying in every direction. When the smoke cleared, Wilhelm was on the ground, and CJ was standing on top of him, Claptrapping device in his hand. The inside of the factory was surprisingly debris free.

"How in the Hell did you just survive that, kid?" Mordecai asked. CJ walked away from the factory, ECHO in hand.

"Thanks, Tina." CJ said.

"Make it RAAIIIIN!" Tina's voice could be heard through CJ's ECHO.

"So… how did you escape?" Angel asked.

"Tina's explosives." CJ said. "I threw them up toward the roof as you guys were escaping. Tina detonated them, sending the falling debris from Wilhelm's rockets away from the factory. As that happened, I jammed my dagger into Wilhelm's head, tearing off the weird brain tube."

"Nice work." Mordecai said.

"I got the key." Angel said. She rushed into the factory, climbed up to the office and grabbed the Vault Key fragment.

"Nice." CJ said. "That's one piece down, two to go."


	9. The Second Piece

**CHAPTER NINE: The Second Piece**

Everyone stood outside the ruins of the New Haven Claptrap plant.

"So… Now what?" Aubrey asked.

"Angel, do you mind?" CJ asked.

"Not at all." Angel said. She ran back into the factory, made her way up to the office, and her Siren tattoos began to glow. "Executing Phaseshift…" She vanished in a white-blue light and began combing the digital world of the Hyperion network. Within a few minutes, she reappeared in a flash of light, jumped down from the office and reunited with everyone outside the factory.

"What's the news?" Mordecai asked.

"The next Vault Key fragment is in the Wildlife Exploitation Preserve." Angel said.

"Bloodwing…" CJ mumbled.

"Claptrap would stash it in that damn place." Mordecai said.

"Mordecai… Do you want to return to Sanctuary and sit this one out?" CJ asked.

"No." Mordecai said. "Zer0 and I can take up a vantage point at my hideout near the entrance to the preserve and provide sniper cover while the rest of you infiltrate the place and find that Vault Key fragment."

"Jack, where are some key points where someone may stash the Vault Key?" CJ asked.

"Hard to say." Jack said. "There aren't any solid safe-like locations. If the Preserve is still being run the same way that I ran it, there's a chance that the Vault Key fragment is being held by some monster."

"Then we search all the creature holding cells." CJ said.

"Claptrap probably disabled the Preserve in the Fast Travel Network, so we'll have to go to the Opportunity Bridge and work our way to the Preserve from there." Mordecai said.

"Sounds like a plan." CJ said. The gang started walking toward the tunnel back to the Rust Commons. As they neared the tunnel, Shaylene pulled CJ back.

"Are you sure helping Jack is the best idea?" She asked.

"Maybe. Maybe not." CJ said. "Maybe he'll turn on us and kill us. But you know what? You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain."

"Don't hit me with Batman quotes." Shaylene said. CJ just chuckled.

"Hey! You guys coming or what?" Mordecai asked.

"Yeah." CJ said, running to catch up to the others. "Sorry. Discussing something."

"What exactly were you… discussing?" Stacey asked, a hint of jealousy in her voice.

"Don't worry about it." CJ said.

"Well I'm going to worry about it." Stacey said. CJ sighed. He pulled her aside.

"She was questioning whether or not I can really trust Jack." CJ said.

"Can you?" Stacey asked.

"I don't know." CJ said. As he and Stacey were discussing this, everyone else was being enveloped in the light of the Fast Travel Station one by one, until only Shaylene remained.

"Hey! CJ and Jealous! Are you coming?" Shaylene asked. Stacey shot her a glare.

"Yeah." CJ said. He turned to Stacey. "Come on. The others are going to start wondering where we are if we don't move quickly." By the time he finished talking, they had walked to the Fast Travel Station and he had entered the code for the Hyperion Bridge Fast Travel Station. The three were enveloped in light and were soon dropped off at the Fast Travel Station near the bridge to Opportunity.

"The Preserve's not far from here." Mordecai said. "Just up those cliffs." Mordecai began leading the group across the Highlands. They stopped off the road, across a small stream and began climbing the green, yet rocky hills of the Highlands. Before long, they were met with resistance as spikes came flying through the air at them.

"Brace yourselves!" Maya said. "Stalkers!"

"I don't see anything…" Dayan said. "Are they long range attackers?"

"Son of a-!" CJ cried out. Everyone turned and saw a spike embedded in his shoulder.

"CJ!" Stacey exclaimed.

"Are you okay?!" Shaylene asked, the two girls rushing to his side.

"I'm fine." CJ said. He pulled the spike out of his shoulder, leaving a bloody gaping wound behind. He tapped his ECHO and an Insta-Health appeared in his hand. The rest of the Sages flinched as he jammed the needle into the open wound. "Fuckin' shit that stings!" He squeezed the triggers on either side of the vial and the red liquid drained rapidly. He yanked the needle out and tossed it to the ground. The Sages watched in amazement as the bleeding stopped and the wound closed. He grabbed his shoulder with his other hand, squeezing at it, obviously still in pain.

"That was really gross." Stacey said.

"What just happened?" Aubrey asked.

"That is an Insta-Health at work." CJ said.

"I doubt your games went into _that_ much detail." Maya said.

"And you'd be right." CJ said. "That was more of a lucky assumption as to how Insta-Health vials work."

"Pretty good guess, Slab." Brick said.

"Thanks." CJ said. "And to answer your question, Dayan, Stalkers are somewhat long-range attackers. They have special glands that allow them to cloak and blend into their surroundings. Much like a Chameleon, but better. As long as they're cloaked, they'll attack by flinging spikes from the tips of their tails."

"Spikes?" Aubrey asked. "As in… multiple?"

"They regenerate fast." Axton said. "So as long as their shields are up and they're cloaked, they'll fling spike after spike at us."

"The fastest way to deplete their shields is shock damage." CJ said. "As they move, they'll have brief moments where they become visible. We can track them that way and attack accordingly."

"I see one!" Shaylene said. She held her hand down by her ECHO and a grenade digistructed in her hand before vanishing. "What the-?"

"Aim your palm at the Stalker." Gaige said.

"O…kay?" Shaylene responded, confused. She held her hand out, palm facing in the direction of the Stalker and watched in amazement as an arc of lighting launched from her hand, striking the Stalker and turning it visible. "Whoa! That's so cool!"

"Here! Let me give you a hand!" Maya said, throwing a grenade up the cliffs. It exploded, releasing several grenades in the explosion, which also released a shock charge, making several Stalkers visible. They were all red-orange in color, much like the ones encountered in the Highlands prior to the Sages' capture by the Raiders. One in particular caught everyone's attention. It was bigger than the other Stalkers and had a crown of sorts made of spikes on its head.

"Aubrey, try to tame the big one." CJ said. "Everyone else, cover her!" Everyone opened fire on the smaller Stalkers while Aubrey rushed forward, whip in hand. She reached the larger Stalker, known as a Badass Stalker, and struck it with her whip, wrapping it around the Stalker's tail. A gentle breeze swished past Aubrey and the Stalker and it was dazed for a moment, before suddenly swinging its tail, sending Aubrey and her whip flying several feet.

"Aubrey!" Alex said. "Ares! Ajax!" He summoned his golems. Ares rushed toward the Badass Stalker while Ajax and Alex rushed over to Aubrey's side. "You okay?" Alex asked, examining Aubrey for injuries.

"I'm fine." Aubrey said. She started to stand. "Ow… Ok, maybe not." She flopped back down.

"Fine, huh?" Alex asked, as he grabbed an Insta-Health from his ECHO.

"No." Aubrey said, grabbing a vial from her own ECHO. "Don't use your supply. Yo CJ! These things heal fractures and stuff?"

"Worth a shot!" CJ said, as Aubrey jammed the needle into her left leg. Within moments, the pain subsided.

"That was quick." Aubrey said. "Alex, gimme a hand?" Alex held out his hand and helped Aubrey stand. "You can let go."

"Are you sure?" Alex asked.

"Yeah." Aubrey said. "It doesn't hurt to stand on. I'm fine." Alex stepped back and let Aubrey stand on her own, which to his surprise she didn't seem to have any issue with. They turned toward the others and saw several Stalker bodies strewn about the cliff sides. And one Stalker crushed under a boulder. Ares floated over to Alex before the two golems vanished.

"How much further until the Preserve?" CJ asked. Mordecai pointed to a small cavern in the nearby cliffs.

"Just through that passage." He said. He led everyone through the passage and they soon emerged in another area similar to the Highlands. Green hills, rocky cliffs and tall rock formations on the edge of a large lake. In the distance to the west, they could see the bridge leading to Opportunity. To the north was Sanctuary and the Dust and to the east was the same large dam they saw when first arriving in the Highlands. Toward the eastern end of the Preserve were several buildings, including a large dome-like structure, as well as a smaller dome attached to one of the larger buildings.

"For someone who's played a game taking place on Pandora, you sure ask a lot of questions about the planet's geography." Maya said.

"You can only trust a work of… 'fiction' so much." CJ said. "Besides, in places like the cavern between the Highlands and the Preserve or the tunnel between the Rust Commons and New Haven, in game it was a simple interaction with a doorway or cave opening that basically warped you between the two locations. It wasn't a fluid, fully-connected world that you were free to travel."

"Ugh, I hate ECHOnet games that don't have seamless connections between maps." Gaige said. "It ruins the immersion."

"Moving on… what's the plan?" Axton asked.

"Zer0 and Mordecai will take up positions in his hideout." CJ said. "Cover us with sniper fire." He tapped his ECHO and a map of the Preserve was projected in front of everyone. "The rest of us will fight our way through the dockyard, past the Stalker enclosures and into Specimen Maintenance. Hopefully, we can find the Vault Key fragment somewhere in there."

"Resistance level?" Axton asked.

"High." CJ said. "I expect Claptraps, robo-controlled creatures, and possibly Loaders. Corrosive weaponry would be ideal. Fire and shock weapons are a good thing to have as backup." By this time, everyone had reached a small alcove near the top of one of the cliffs overlooking the Preserve. Scribbled on the walls were maps of the Preserve and notes marking different points of interest.

"Sorry my intel may not be up-to-date." Mordecai said.

"It's fine." CJ said. "We'll make do with what we have." He scanned the map and notes. "I'd wager that the enclosure where Bloodwing was held may be somewhere that Claptrap would stash whatever creature he has guarding the Vault Key fragment. But at the same time, the arena where you guys were forced to fight Bloodwing is a point of interest too. Either way, we'll need to fight our way through much of the Preserve to reach either point."

"Then let's do it." Brick said.

"Brick and Athena, you lead the charge." CJ said. "Fists and shield first. Sages, we'll be the main force. Vault Hunters, I want you guys to be cleanup."

"We take out anyone you miss." Maya said. "Got it."

"But stay close enough to provide emergency defense if we get overwhelmed." CJ said. Maya nodded. Brick and Athena jumped down the cliff side, landing rather harmlessly. The Sages followed suit, then the remaining Vault Hunters jumped down.

"Need me to punch through it?" Brick asked, referencing the large metal door ahead of them.

"Punch away." CJ said. Brick rushed forward and slammed his fist into the door, smashing a large hole in it. Beyond the door was a large area on the waterfront. There were several docks leading out onto the water, and the area was littered with shipping crates. Brick and Athena stepped through the gate first, scanning the area, before the Sages followed suit. As Maya and the other Vault Hunters prepared to step through, the doors of the nearby building opened.

"First Law disabled."

"Increasing aggression."

"Loaders!" CJ said.

"Keep going!" Maya said. "We'll stay back and hold them off!" She held her hand up in the direction of one of the Loaders and balled it into a fist. A purplish-blue sphere of energy surrounded the Loader, lifting it into the air and trapping it. The Sages continued on, leaving their backup behind. As they continued further into the shipping docks, they came across a series of shipping containers modified to resemble cages.

"Yup… Still being run like I ran it." Jack said.

"How do we open the crates?" CJ asked.

"What are you thinking?" Shaylene asked.

"Remember the mission in Borderlands 2 where we freed the creatures in the Preserve?" CJ asked. Shaylene nodded. "That."

"So, you're voting we free any trapped creatures?" Brick asked.

"Any that haven't been Claptrapped, yes." CJ said.

"Let's do it." Brick said, ripping the bars off of one of the crates. A group of Stalkers jumped out. A door on a nearby building opened and a group of Claptraps rushed out.

"Viva la Robolution!"

"Kill the Vault Hunters!" Almost instantly, the Stalkers pounced on the Claptraps, using their sharp claws to tear the robots open, ripping out their inner circuitry. As one of the Claptraps exploded, it dropped a red strip of leather. Aubrey quickly grabbed it, tying it to her whip. As she did, a vision flashed in her mind.

* * *

 _Aubrey rushed forward, toward a herd of Skags. She swung her whip and watched as a breeze rushed by, taming two of the Skags, and coating one in fire. The fire one rushed forward and began attacking the other Skags, burning them as it attacked._

* * *

"Well. This will come in handy." Aubrey said.

"What's up?" CJ asked.

"Looks like I got some new skills." Aubrey said. "The ability to tame more than one creature, and the ability to gift a tamed creature with the ability to deal burn damage."

"Nice." Alex said, bashing a Claptrap with his gun.

"Alex, I thought you hated meleeing with your gun." CJ said, as he cloaked and stabbed his acid-infused blade through another Claptrap.

"For the most part I do." Alex said, switching to his Rhythmic Spitter and shooting a yellow-and-black-striped Loader, known as an Exploder Loader or EXP Loader, causing it to explode prematurely, sending robot parts flying in every direction.

"Ha! Premature detonation." CJ said, chuckling. Meanwhile, another EXP Loader managed to detonate near one of the Stalkers, sending body parts flying. Dayan looked down as the tail landed near his feet. It gave off a strange light blue glow, almost as if it was covered in an icy mist. Dayan picked it up and it vanished before a vision flashed in his mind.

* * *

 _Dayan stood somewhere in the Highlands. Perched on a ledge high above him were several Stalkers, all attacking from a distance. He focused for a moment, and an icy spear formed in his hand. He flung the icicle up toward the Stalkers and it pinned one of them to the ground, freezing it solid at the same time._

* * *

"Well, that's gonna come in handy." Dayan said. He formed an icicle spear in his hand and threw it at a Claptrap. The spear smashed its way through the Claptrap and out the other side, causing the robot to short-circuit before the ice worked its way out from the inside, rapidly freezing the Claptrap.

"Dude. Nice." CJ said, piercing the last of the Claptraps with a bullet from his Ornery Revolver. By this point, the Vault Hunter clean-up crew had dealt with the Loaders and caught back up. "Let's keep moving." CJ led the group up a flight of stairs onto another elevated highway, much like the one that ran through the Arid Nexus. "If we follow this, it should lead us past the Skag fields and into the Stalker enclosure."

"Or…" Stacey said. "We could drop down _into_ the fields and Aubrey could tame some of my babies."

"Yeah, No." CJ said. "How 'bout we don't?"

Stacey sighed. "Fine." CJ led everyone along the elevated highway, looking down at the Skags and Stalkers below them. Occasionally, a Stalker would cloak and start flinging tail spikes up at the highway. CJ would react by throwing a Mirv Grenade or two at them. Before long, the highway came to an end at a door way built into a cliff.

"Now what?" Dayan asked.

"Well... Now we have to take Stacey's suggestion and jump down." CJ said.

"Really?" Stacey asked with excitement. CJ pointed to a nearby building not far from the highway.

"Everyone make your way there." CJ said. "Brick and Athena, help me fend off the Skags and Stalkers."

"Boo ya." Brick said.

"You got it." Athena said. Everyone quickly climbed down the nearby cliff, which wasn't as steep as they expected. As soon as they touched the ground, everyone turned and ran toward the building, with the exception of Brick, Athena and CJ. Athena quickly activated her Kinetic Aspis and CJ cloaked, while Brick rushed fists first toward the Stalkers and Skags. As Brick began beating the life out of Skags, Athena used her shield to absorb energy from the Stalkers' tail projectiles. As she absorbed the energy, CJ was busy slicing Stalkers in half with his electrically-charged blade. Before long, the creatures were dealt with and the area was safe. Well, as safe as somewhere on Pandora could be.

"Gotta love elemental relics, huh?" Brick asked.

"Without a doubt." CJ said as the three reached the building where the others waited. Inside was a Med Vendor and Ammo Dump. The building itself was just a small room with a few cages, a couple of desks and some lockers. Attached to the building was a large dome structure. Wandering around the dome were several Stalkers, who hadn't noticed the Sages and Vault Hunters yet.

"Shall I do the honors?" Brick asked, pointing to the cages.

"Please." CJ said. Brick once again ripped the gates off the cages, this time releasing Skags. Once again, within moments, several nearby doors opened and Claptrap reinforcements came running out.

"Gotta say, I'm impressed with how fast Shadowtrap began reproducing the Claptrap line." Athena said, activating her Aspis.

"I smell meat! Meat smells me! We're a happy family!" Krieg shouted, before rushing forward, slicing through the Claptraps like a hot knife through butter. The Skags, meanwhile, rushed out of the building and began attacking the Stalkers.

"Come on! Let's move while the creatures are killing each other!" Maya said.

"But… my babies…" Stacey said.

"Damnit, Stacey!" CJ said. "Not the time!" The gang rushed through the dome, up a nearby incline and past the Skags and Stalkers. They emerged in a grassy area near a large building. Running through the area was a small stream, which cascaded over nearby rocks and into the previous fields with the elevated highway.

"There it is." Maya said. "Specimen Maintenance."

"Perfect." CJ said. "Let's go." As they stepped forward, they noticed two strange tower-like devices at the end of the bridge leading over the stream into Specimen Maintenance. Atop these devices was some sort of lens.

"Digistruct poles." Gaige said. As the group walked forward, the towers digistructed a pair of brownish Loaders with large plow-like shields attached to their left arms and high-powered rifles in their right, known as BUL Loaders.

"Frickin' Claptraps, using my own beautiful Loaders against me." Jack said. "Y'know, combat Loaders were my idea. Before me, they were just worker bots. I made them fight."

"Yeah, so you could ravage Pandora." Athena said.

"I tried to bring order to this savage planet." Jack said.

"Can we save this for another time?" CJ asked, firing several shots at the Loaders, blasting off the right arm of one of them. The loader then folded into a miniature bulldozer, rushing toward the group at a fast speed. "When we're not almost being run over by your damn Loaders!" Everyone dove out of the way as Shaylene threw her turret down.

"Everyone, go!" Shaylene shouted. "My turret will cover us!" Dayan threw his turret down as well. Everyone rushed forward toward the Specimen Maintenance building as ice and acid bursts blasted any Loaders that were digistructed behind them.

CJ activated his ECHO. "Mordecai, we're in Specimen Maintenance."

"Check the holding cells." Mordecai said. "Claptrap could have stashed the Vault Key fragment anywhere."

"Should we start with any cell in particular?" CJ asked.

"No. Just check all of them." Mordecai said, before CJ shut off his comm. He scanned the area. Most of the cells just held Skags, though a couple of them held Stalkers as well. In a nearby room was a computer.

"I'm gonna try to open the cells one by one." CJ said. "But, if that fails and they all open at once, leave the cell with the two big Skags alone. I want Aubrey to try to tame them. You see the ones I'm talking about, Aubrey?"

"Yeah." Aubrey said. "The big Corrosive one and the big normal one?"

"That's the cell." CJ said. He ran over to the computer. "Duh. What am I thinking? Angel, gimme a hand, please?"

"Sure." Angel said, running over as well. Her tattoos glowed and she vanished in a flash. Within a few moments, the cells containing the two Skags, a Badass Corrosive Skag and an Alpha Skag, opened. Aubrey quickly cracked her whip, and a gentle breeze rushed past the two Skags. As the breeze struck the Alpha Skag, it grew a bit bigger and became coated in flames.

"Nice!" CJ said. "That fire whip you added just turned that Alpha Skag into a Badass Fire Skag. With these guys, we should have no trouble fighting our way through the rest of the Preserve and finding that Vault Key fragment. Angel, can you open the rest of the cells?"

"Not a problem." Angel's voice echoed, and the other cells all opened. The Badass Skags quickly started attacking the other creatures as Angel reappeared next to CJ. Without a thought, he prepared to catch her. "I'm fine. Thank you." Before anyone could even do anything, the Badass Skags tore the other creatures to shreds.

"Oh come on! We hadn't even robo-brainwashed them yet!" Shouted a Claptrap engineer, who had just come walking out of a nearby door. CJ quickly rushed over, grabbing the Claptrap and holding his acid blade to the Claptrap's eye.

"Where's your boss keeping the piece of the Vault Key?" CJ asked.

"Viva la Robolution! I'll never tell you!" The Claptrap said.

"Fine." CJ said. He sliced off the Claptrap's left arm.

"Ow! Robots feel pain too, a**hole!" The Claptrap said.

"Oh neat. That profanity filter program is still in their code!" Jack said excitedly.

"Tell me where the Vault Key fragment is and you won't feel any more pain." CJ said, pressing his blade to the Claptrap's right arm.

"Ok ok! The Observation Wing!" The Claptrap said.

"Thanks." CJ said. He jammed his blade through where he assumed the Claptrap's heart would be. The robot sparked momentarily before altogether shutting down.

"What happened to 'you won't feel any more pain'?" Alex asked.

"He didn't feel any pain." CJ said. "He's dead. Now, let's go. To the Observation Wing." CJ led his friends out of Specimen Maintenance with the aid of their Badass Skags, through another small field of Stalkers and into a large field near another building. Running above this field was another elevated highway, this one broken and crumbling. A load roar was heard and the gang turned to see a Badass Corrosive Skag and a Badass Fire Skag running toward them.

"Those aren't friendly, I'm assuming." Dayan said.

"Fluffy!" Stacey exclaimed. CJ sighed. Aubrey's two Skags charged forward, each one taking on the other element, making both fights Fire vs. Corrosion.

"Come on, while they're distracted!" CJ said, leading his friends into the nearby building. Once inside, they were immediately greeted with a Loader sitting at a desk.

"All personnel are reminded not to speak to, or make eye contact with potential test subjects. Any Hyperion solider found guilty of experiencing sympathy will be forced to switch places with the test subjects." The Loader said.

"I see that Loader's programming hasn't changed." CJ said. The group simply ran past the Loader and into the rest of the building, which looked like a large warehouse. They rushed through the warehouse surprisingly unopposed until they came across a large elevator platform.

"That's it." Maya said. "This elevator leads to the observation arena where we fought Bloodwing."

CJ activated his ECHO. "Mordecai, we're in the Observation Wing. See anything outside?"

"Negative." Mordecai said.

"Ok." CJ said. "We're going out onto the observation deck. Keep an eye on us."

"You got it, kid." Mordecai said. Everyone stepped onto the elevator and rode it down to a large arena like area. In the center was a trap door that presumably led to some kind of underground chamber. As they stepped into the arena, the trap door opened and a platform rose up, seemingly only holding the Vault Key fragment.

"There it is!" Aubrey said.

"No." CJ said. "This is too easy." Suddenly, the air around the fragment sparked and a large orange Stalker with spikes on its head and back appeared as the Vault Key fragment vanished. Atop the Stalker's head was one of Claptrap's weird robotic hypnotizing devices.

 **-Henry-Trap : Go thump yourself-**

"Is that… the Stalker that ate that Taggart weirdo?" Gaige asked.

"You mean the hunter with the Oedipus Complex?" CJ asked.

"The what now?" Axton asked.

"Oh sorry… Earth thing." CJ said. "The hunter who banged his own mother?"

"Yup." Maya said. "That's the guy. And that's the Stalker."

"Well, it looks like that Stalker's had more than just a motherfucker for dinner." CJ said. Alex chuckled. "Let's kill this thing and get that Vault Key piece." CJ then cloaked as Henry-trap did the same. Almost as soon as Henry-trap had cloaked, a sparking blade sliced through him, breaking his camouflage.

"Open fire!" Axton said.

"More like… open fists!" Brick said, rushing forward and punching Henry-trap in the mouth. A loud gunshot rang out and a bullet pierced Henry-trap, coating him in Slag.

"Chew on this!" Alex said, throwing a grenade. It bounced around a bit before exploding and lighting Henry-trap on fire.

"Meat. Meat! MEAT!" Krieg shouted as his muscles grew bigger and his voice became more savage. He rushed forward, slashing at Henry-trap with his buzzaxe until the Stalker was sliced into chunks. Amidst the pile of guts and body parts was the Vault Key fragment. His lust for blood satisfied, Krieg passed out and returned to his normal size.

"Is… he okay?" Aubrey asked.

"He's fine." Maya said.

"Two down, one to go." CJ said. Suddenly, a Rakk swooped down and grabbed the fragment.

"Hell no!" Shaylene said. She grabbed a grenade and held out her palm in the Rakk's direction. An arc of lightning shot out from her hand and killed the Rakk instantly, causing its dead body to plummet to the ground and the Vault Key fragment to fall back down into the arena. CJ quickly picked it up and it vanished into his ECHO storage.

"Like I said… Two down. One to go." He said.


	10. Phantoms of the Borderlands

**CHAPTER TEN: Phantoms of the Borderlands**

The Sages and the Vault Hunters stood in the arena where Henry-trap had fallen.

"This is it." Mordecai said over the ECHO. "We find this last piece of the Vault Key and then we hunt down Claptrap, find Lilith, and destroy this Vault."

"Let's see if we can find a computer so Angel can access the network and find the final key." CJ said.

"No need." Shadowtrap's voice echoed, hacking the group's comms. "I have the final piece. It's here with me and Lilith, since I can't trust my minions to keep the pieces safe. Come find me. I'm in the place where the off-worlders first landed on Pandora." The line was then cut.

"Fyrestone…" CJ said.

"He wants to face us." Athena said.

"One final fight." Brick said.

"What the hell are we waiting for?" Jack asked. "Let's get to Fyrestone and smash that bot so we can find the Vault and get rich!"

"Jack has a point." CJ said. "Sort of… Let's get to Fyrestone and find Claptrap. Mordecai, Zer0, meet us at the Fast Travel Station."

"You got it, kid." Mordecai said. Before long, everyone stood at a Fast Travel Station near the entrance to the Preserve. Behind them was a Gun Vendor, a Med Vendor and an Ammo Dump.

"This is it, guys." CJ said. "Claptrap, Lilith and the last piece of the Vault Key are in Fyrestone. The very first place we saw when we got dropped on this planet. If that's where the monolith put us, and that's where Claptrap waits with the Vault Key fragment, there's a chance the Vault of the Prime is there as well. This is it. The final fight."

"If you need to make any preparations, I suggest doing it now." Mordecai said.

"The only thing we need to do is get to Fyrestone, kill Claptrap, save Lilith and find a way home." CJ said, typing Fyrestone's Fast Travel code into the system. Everyone was enveloped in a bright light and were soon dropped into Fyrestone.

"I'm amazed that worked." Mordecai said. "I thought Claptrap would've locked us out of Fyrestone."

"Hello Travelers." Everyone looked ahead of them and saw Shadowtrap standing there. Behind him were Lilith and the Vault key fragment, sealed in a magic barrier. Beyond them was half of a stone arch. Next to the arch was the Eridian monolith. On the ground in front of the monolith was a small elevated platform and in the center of the platform was a round hole.

"That wasn't there before." CJ said.

"No it was not." Mordecai said. The monolith then began to glow and suddenly transformed into the other half of the stone arch.

"The Vault of the Prime…" Angel said.

"This is the end. For you." Shadowtrap said. Suddenly, a group of Claptraps rushed in, grabbing Stacey and Angel before anyone could react. Shadowtrap then jumped back, standing behind a barrier. The Vault Key fragments suddenly appeared before him, merging with the piece he already had, and forming energy streams connecting them to Lilith, Stacey and Angel.

"Stacey!" CJ said.

"Angel!" Jack called out. Jack rushed forward, trying to break through the force field but was thrown back. "Damn robot!"

"I owe you." Shadowtrap said. "You brought me what I needed. The final two pieces of the Vault Key, along with two more Sirens. You see, I learned that the key to the Vault of the Prime isn't the Vault Key and a Siren, but the Vault Key and _three_ Sirens." The pieces connected and the key slammed into the hole in the ground. The white markings along the platform and the archway began to glow with a purple light as the inside of the archway turned into a bright white doorway. The creature that emerged from it was alien-like in appearance: a slender white body, long thin arms, a small oval head with only two red eyes and wings seemingly made of black flames. Its body was covered in violet markings reminiscent of Siren tattoos.

 **-The Prime : The first (and hopefully the last)-**

"Pandora is MINE!" Shadowtrap said.

"That looks a lot like the Guardians…" CJ said.

"The Watcher did say that the Vault creatures may be weapons made by ancient Eridians." Mordecai said.

"Yeah." CJ said. "I know."

"You think you can defeat me?" Shadowtrap asked. "I am the Alpha! The Omega! Come, my minions!" A new group of creatures appeared in front of everyone. They were strange insect-like creatures with pincers on their head, four legs, and forked tails. On their heads was the word "Virus" and they had a digital, data-like appearance.

"Impossible…" Athena said.

"What's impossible?" CJ asked.

"Those things were inside Claptrap." Athena said. "When Jack sent us in to get the H-Source. Those were packets of data. How are they real?"

"I told you. I am ultimate." Shadowtrap said. A group of Loaders and Claptraps dropped down from the highway above Fyrestone… EXP Loaders, BUL Loaders, as well as basic loaders with rockets and assault rifles, known as RPG Loaders and GUN Loaders.

"Of course." CJ said. "Alex, Dayan, Gaige, Athena, Krieg and Axton, focus on the Viruses, Claptraps and Loaders. Aubrey, Shaylene, Brick, Maya and Salvador, focus on the Prime. Jack, you and I are going after Shadowtrap himself."

"With pleasure." Jack said.

"Mordecai, can you and Zer0 do the sniper thing?" CJ asked.

"Hell yeah." Mordecai said.

"Sniper overwatch. / A task I do excel at. / This will be easy." Zer0 said.

"Everyone else have their jobs?" CJ asked.

"You got it." Alex said, summoning his golems.

"Blood and metal. My _favorite_ things." Gaige said, summoning Deathtrap.

"It's damn near time we get off this planet." Dayan said, throwing down his turret.

"I hate Claptrap even more than I used to." Athena said, activating her shield.

"(Please just kill the enemies.)" Krieg's inner voice said.

"C'mon, Baby!" Axton said, deploying his turret, creating a small explosion that destroyed one of the Claptraps.

"Don't hurt the Claptraps!" Stacey said. "They're so colorful!"

CJ sighed. "Stacey, we don't have a choice!" He and Jack rushed forward, toward the Siren-built barrier.

"I grow tired of this!" Shadowtrap said. "Let's see how you deal with this!" The barrier weakened just enough that CJ and Jack passed through it with no problem, before the barrier immediately strengthened again.

"Deal with what?" CJ laughed. "You opening the path for us? Making it easier for us to end you?"

"No." Shadowtrap laughed. "THIS!" A blue beam of light fired from his eye, enveloping Jack and CJ, who dissolved into particles of light and were absorbed into Shadowtrap.

"CJ!" Stacey and Shaylene exclaimed, as Shaylene threw down her turret and focused her energy on the Prime.

"CJ! Dad!" Angel shouted.

"Damnit!" Mordecai swore, activating his ECHO. "Kid! Kid, can you hear me?" He waited for a response. "Nothing…"

Meanwhile, CJ and Jack found themselves in a large chamber. The chamber was hot and part of the floor was red like lava. However, the floor was pixelated, almost as if it was digital. CJ and Jack were standing on a long, thin road-like platform that had slanted pillars on the side. At the other end of the platform was a raised ledge with a throne on it. Sitting atop the throne was a black Claptrap, about four times larger than the Fragtrap and other Claptraps. On his shoulders were round shoulder pads bearing a skull. His eye was red, and unlike other Claptraps, was rectangular instead of round.

 **-5h4d0w-TP : T1m3 2 D13-**

"You've digitized us into Claptrap's mind." Jack realized.

"How perceptive of you, Jack." Shadowtrap said. "I've drawn you in here so you can't interfere with my Prime!"

"But my friends and the Vault Hunters will." CJ said.

"They're too busy dealing with my Claptraps, Loaders and Viruses." Shadowtrap said.

"You underestimate them." CJ smirked.

"Fools!" Shadowtrap shouted. "I've isolated you from your friends, your loved ones and your support! And once I've dealt with you… Jack, the man who is the source of Claptrap's problems… and you, the leader of these off-world pests… I'll control the Prime using the power of the three Sirens and I WILL SCORCH PANDORA!" A large, robotic exoskeleton then digistructed around Shadowtrap. It was humanoid in appearance and Shadowtrap sat on his throne where the head would be.

 **-Eclipse : He's a big one-**

"Jack… You still got all your old tricks up your sleeve?" CJ asked.

Jack laughed. "Do I have all my old-? Kiddo, you've got a lot to learn." Suddenly, three more Jacks appeared in the room.

"Thought so." CJ said, vanishing. All four Jacks began firing wrist lasers at Eclipse.

"Impressive, kiddo." Jack said. "Assassin tricks." Suddenly, amidst the wrist lasers, a corrosive blade sliced down the center of Eclipse. CJ appeared at Eclipse's feet and jumped back, emptying the cylinder of his revolver by burying six bullets into Eclipse's head.

"You cannot win!" Eclipse shouted. "My lasers are superior!" Eclipse fired off a series of large laser bursts, which Jack and CJ miraculously managed to avoid.

"I hope you've got some real good tricks up your sleeve!" Jack said, as Eclipse leaped into the air.

"That's up for debate!" CJ said, cloaking once again. As Jack continued to fire laser bursts at Eclipse, a sniper shot rang out, striking Shadowtrap's eye, which was quickly followed by a shock blade slicing across Eclipse's left shoulder. Uncloaking, CJ quickly jumped away as Eclipse stomped the ground where he was standing.

"Why won't this frickin' robot just die already?!" Jack asked.

"You think you can best me?" Eclipse said. "With the power of the Prime, I will destroy all! Together, we are the Alpha and the Omega!"

"My friends will kill your Prime." CJ said. "And so will the Vault Hunters. Count on it."

Back in Fyrestone, the battle raged on against Shadowtrap's forces and the Prime.

"Keep fighting! You have to win!" Angel said. "I know it looks tough, but you guys are Vault Hunters! You can do this!"

"But we're not Vault Hunters!" Shaylene said, focusing her laser fire on the Prime's head.

"We've never done this!" Dayan said, freezing a Virus with the Frostfire, which one of Alex's golems crushed and shattered.

"I've only ever fought Vault monsters in video games." Alex said.

"Trust me. You can do this." Angel said. "This creature may be unstoppable in its own realm, but here the Prime is vulnerable." A sniper bullet pierced a Loader's eye, causing it to explode. Another bullet exploded on impact with the Prime, coating part of its body in Slag.

"Do not lose hope, friends. / You can defeat this monster. / We are by your side." Zer0 said.

"Yeah. You've got the aid of expert Vault Hunters." Mordecai said.

"We've done this a few times in our days." Brick said, slamming his fists into the ground below the Prime.

"You just have to have faith." Gaige said, as Deathtrap ignited a Virus with a fire laser and Gaige blasted a Claptrap with a corrosive shotgun.

"Don't lose hope!" Maya said, focusing her Phaselocking powers on the Prime. Although the creature was too big to trap, her ability still damaged it.

"We can win, amigos!" Salvador said, as he pulled out a second assault rifle and went into a firing frenzy with both guns. This was his Gunzerking skill.

"You know about Fiona." Athena said, throwing her shield at a group of Loaders. "You know I taught her about being a Vault Hunter. And because of that, I know that you're all skilled enough for this. You can win this."

"But… what about CJ?" Shaylene asked. "He's trapped inside Shadowtrap's mind."

"He'll be fine." Athena said. "I've been in there. I know what he's probably facing, and he can win."

"Yeah." Mordecai said, firing another Slag shot at the Prime. "He's a tough kid. I gotta say, he's got skill for an off-worlder. You all do."

"You've all made a hell of a good group of soldiers." Axton said, as he reclaimed and threw down his turret, causing a small explosion that destroyed a couple of Viruses. "Together, we will overcome this monster."

Back inside Claptrap's mind, CJ and Jack were still dealing with Eclipse, who had started summoning Viruses to aid him.

"Jack, focus on the Viruses!" CJ said. "Cover me, I'm going to try to finish Eclipse off." He cloaked, as Jack turned his attention to the various Viruses.

"Don't be a hero, kid! Pandora's no place for it!" Jack said. A corrosive blade slashed across Eclipse's neck and down his chest. In mid-slice, CJ reappeared, kicked off of Eclipse's chest, and fired a single shot at Shadowtrap, piercing his chassis. As CJ landed on the ground, the Viruses vanished and Eclipse crumbled to the ground. "…I stand corrected."

"Don't get too cocky." Shadowtrap said, standing up. "Now you will see my true power!" Jack and CJ watched as Shadowtrap dissolved into bits of data. The data began to come together again, reconfiguring into a large H-shaped structure in the sky above them. In the center was a round section holding a single red eye.

 **-EOS : This Is His Final Form-**

"Lovely…" CJ said.

"He's taken on the form of Helios?" Jack asked. "You have GOT to be frickin' kidding me!"

"Jack. Be careful." CJ said. "In the game, this was Shadowtrap's ultimate form, complete with the moonshot cannon and the Eye of Helios."

"Oh come on!" Jack shouted.

"Just stay alert!" CJ said, cloaking. Jack reached into his ECHO and pulled out a pistol. He fired several shots at EOS, which seemed to do nothing.

"You may have gotten your hands on the H-Source, Jack, but it remained in my code." EOS said, several holograms of Lilith appearing around the battlefield. "And I was right. You were far worse than I would've been. Destroying the Claptrap line, trying to kill him, trying to kill his friends. You were more of a monster than I ever would've been."

"Shut up!" Jack shouted.

"Firing Moonshot Cannon!" EOS called out. Several shots fired from the center of EOS, crashing into the battlefield. Suddenly, a corrosive blade pierced EOS's center and several gunshots rang out, slicing through parts of the hulking structure. CJ reappeared on the elevated platform where Shadowtrap's throne once sat. The hologram of Lilith reappeared. "Trying to be a hero, Jack? You're not a hero. Nothing you've ever done has been heroic. I've seen it all. Through Claptrap. Everything from the day you installed the protocols to the day the Warrior fell. And now, even everything you've done since your revival."

"Shut up! Shut up! I am a hero! I… can save this planet! I will rid Pandora of filthy bandits and every last Claptrap! Starting with you!" Jack shouted.

"Jack! Don't listen to him!" CJ said, firing several shots at the Eye of EOS. "He's just trying to get under your skin." CJ jumped down from the upper platform and rushed down under the long walkway. "You can't let him get to you!" He activated a small console which generated a couple crates of ammo. He grabbed the pistol ammo and absorbed it into his ECHO.

"Don't hide the truth from him, boy!" EOS said. "He's a monster! He's no better than the others. The ones who pretend to be Claptrap's friends! They… and you… must die!" Several small laser beams began focusing out from around the eye, forming into one big laser that was preparing to fire.

"Jack, hide!" CJ exclaimed.

"Firing Eye of Helios!" EOS shouted. Jack and CJ took cover as the laser pounded the battlefield, tearing up code as it tore through. As soon as the laser had stopped, CJ cloaked. Within a few seconds, a flying corrosive dagger pierced the Eye of EOS before vanishing into bits of code. A shot rang out and CJ reappeared as the bullet pierced EOS. EOS began flashing and seeming to break down, bits of data and code breaking off and vanishing.

"I told you. You weren't going to win." CJ said.

"Not quite!" I still have one last trick up my sleeve!" EOS said, transforming back into Shadowtrap. Suddenly, a white light filled the arena, blinding CJ and Jack. When CJ's vision finally returned, he was back in Fyrestone, in the midst of the battle with the Prime.

"CJ! You're okay!" Shaylene exclaimed. Within the Siren barrier still intact, Claptrap stood back up, laughing.

"I told you I had one last trick!" Shadowtrap said, leaping out of the barrier and atop the Prime.

"Letting me go was a trick?" CJ said.

"Foolish boy." Shadowtrap said. "Keeping Jack prisoner was the last trick! Even now, he remains digitized inside Claptrap's subconscious!"

"No! Dad!" Angel said. Suddenly, Shadowtrap began to short-circuit, twitching and jolting.

"No! What's happening to me?! I'm losing control!" Shadowtrap plummeted to the ground in a trail of smoke. As he landed, Jack reappeared next to him. Without hesitation, Jack smashed open Claptrap, reached inside and yanked out his central processor, before snapping it in half. The robot arced with electricity and exploded. All the Claptraps and Loaders shut down and the Viruses vanished, leaving only the Prime. Reacting quickly, Jack leaped atop the Prime.

"No!" Lilith exclaimed. The energy shield around her and the other two Sirens dissolved as she vanished. She quickly reappeared atop the Prime, causing an explosion that sent Jack plummeting to the ground.

"Everyone, focus on the Prime!" CJ said. Everyone turned their attention to the Vault monster and before long, it fell to the ground, lifeless. As it dropped, the Vault gate vanished, transforming back into the monolith. CJ pulled his revolver out and pointed it at Jack. Reacting fast, Jack deployed his decoys. "Son of a-"

"Shoot them all!" Lilith said. The Vault Hunters and Sages unleashed a hellfire of bullets on all of the Jacks. Before long, they all dropped.

"Ooh. Tough luck. You didn't get me at all, kiddos." Jack said from behind them. CJ spun around, gun aimed at Jack. His eyes widened when he finally realized what he was looking at. Jack was standing there, arm wrapped around Angel's neck and shoulders holding her hostage. CJ lowered his gun. Jack smirked, raising his.

"Dad don't!" Angel shouted. "Don't hurt him!"

"I learned a lot from observing Pandora. Learned a lot about survival, about greed. But most of all, I learned that no matter how badass they may be, anyone will happily lay down their life for a pretty girl with big... blue... eyes." Jack said. "And you're no different. You'd clearly throw it all away for Angel." Jack placed his finger on the trigger and Shaylene suddenly stepped in front of CJ. Jack laughed. "Two bandits with one bullet. Perfect." A glow from the monolith caught Angel's attention. She stomped on Jack's foot, allowing her to escape, as a blast of energy flew out of the monolith, striking Jack and killing him.

"Who just… did that?" Mordecai wondered. Everyone looked toward the monolith and saw a young woman in her early-to-mid-20s step out who bore a striking resemblance to Shaylene.

"Jennette!" Shaylene exclaimed, rushing over and hugging her.

"Are you okay?" Jennette asked.

"I'm fine." Shaylene said.

"You should use this to your advantage." Lilith said. "If the monolith is working, you can get home."

CJ looked down at Claptrap's shell and saw a strange coil-like device. He picked it up and examined it. He then tossed it to Lilith.

"Here." CJ said. "Give that to Marcus. Let him know we made it home. Tell him everything that happened. Tell him that Claptrap was producing the laser weapons. And tell him thanks. And… Thank you all. If it weren't for all of you, I'm not sure we'd be here."

"You're welcome." Lilith said. "Just get yourselves through the monolith and go home."

"Angel…" CJ said. "And the rest of you. We can help you find homes on Earth. Help you make a life there. I want to help you guys get off this planet too."

"Thank you for the kind offer." Angel said. "But my home is here on Pandora. With the Crimson Raiders. I want to help rebuild everything that my father destroyed. But maybe we'll meet again someday." She kissed CJ on the cheek, meeting angry glares from both Stacey and Shaylene.

"I hope we do." CJ said, smiling. He returned Angel's kiss, making Stacey and Shaylene angrier. He and his friends stepped through the monolith and found themselves back in the Woolworth Building.

"What a ride." Dayan said.

"You can say that again." Alex said.

"A ride that you caused." Aubrey said.

"Yeah but it was fun." Stacey said.

"And we had a great adventure." Shaylene said.

"And made some great friends." CJ said with a smile.

"I'm just glad you're all safe." Jennette said. Once they all stepped through the monolith, it crumbled to the ground, leaving only a raw hunk of Eridium in its place.

 _ **Meanwhile…**_

A dark-skinned woman and white man stood in an unknown location, presumably far from both Earth and Pandora. The man wore a black shirt, jacket and pants and had a silver robotic arm. One eye was yellow, the other was brown, and his brown hair was slicked back. In the left side of his head was a strange round metal object. The woman had brown hair with a single red streak in front and wore a maroon shirt, black jacket and pants, and black hat.

"This… is not what I expected when I walked into the Vault…" The man said.

"Where the Hell are we?" The woman wondered.

"No idea, Fiona…" The man said. "No idea…"

"Guess this puts any plans you have for Atlas on hold until we figure out how to get back to Sasha and Vaughn, huh?" The woman asked.

"Definitely."

Back on Earth, CJ and his friends had walked out of the Woolworth Building and up the street to the nearby park. CJ smiled and took a deep breath.

"It's good to be home." He said. "Fresh air. My own bed. Nothing trying to murder me."

"So… How did you get to Pandora, Jennette?" Shaylene asked.

"I started poking around looking for you." Jennette said. "You weren't answering your phone. CJ wasn't answering his. You weren't home or at his place. He wasn't at his place. I started getting worried after a while."

"Exactly how long were we gone?" Shaylene asked.

"Two and a half weeks." Jennette said. "I started getting the suspicion that it was power related, and that led me to the Woolworth Building. Once I got in there, I saw the monolith, and through that, I saw you in danger. I knew _I_ had to act. _I_ had to do whatever _I_ could to save you. CJ clearly wasn't doing anything."

"Jennette, we were working on a way-" CJ said.

"Save it!" Jennette snapped. "You nearly got my sister killed! I spent two weeks working to keep Mom and Dad from calling in the goddamn SWAT team! Two fucking weeks! Because of this stupid powers bullshit! Because I knew Shaylene and you were probably off on some mission stopping some monsters or something! I assumed you were looking out for her! But now I know you nearly got her KILLED!"

"Jenn… I was trying to protect him…" Shaylene said.

" _He's_ supposed to protect _you_!" Jennette said. "It's hard enough trying to hide our powers from Mom and Dad as it is! Imagine if you got killed! What the fuck would I say then?!"

"Jennette… I'm sorry." CJ said. "Please… She's fine. We're all fine. Just calm down…"

"Fine?" Jennette snapped. "Are my parents fine?! My Mom and Dad, who've barely slept in almost three weeks, because their baby girl has been missing! Are they fine?! You endangered my sister's life! And worst of all, when he became real, you sided with Handsome Jack!" Energy began to swirl around Jennette. "I wish we'd never gotten these stupid powers. I wish… I wish it would all just go away! I wish you would go away!" A wave of pure energy rippled out from Jennette, and a cry of pain was heard as someone was struck.

"Shay!" CJ exclaimed, rushing to his best friend's side. "Shay! Speak to me! Wake up!" CJ frantically tried to wake Shaylene, as several onlookers called 911 in a panic. "Damnit Jennette! What have you done!?" Without a thought, he fired a blast of energy back at Jennette, knocking her onto her back. She struggled to stand, terrified by what she had done, and quickly ran away as fast as she could. Before long, an ambulance arrived and Shaylene was transported to the hospital.

A few hours later, on the outskirts of town, Jennette sat next to a small stream, crying.

"What have I done…?" She sobbed. "I didn't mean to hurt her… I didn't want to hurt anyone…" Unseen to her, a long figure approached her. As the figure drew closer, they held out their hand. Jennette winced as she felt her energy being drained from her, and before she could react, she collapsed on the ground. Several men in suits appeared as if from nowhere and grabbed her.

"Get her back to the facility." The figure who drained her said. "We've got work to do."

 **To Be Continued…**


End file.
